Something New
by Chels17
Summary: Rizzles AU: Jane and Maura get off to a rocky start when they meet as seniors in high school but soon find themselves combining their unique talents as they face their first murder. Still together as a Boston police officer and college graduate, the girls begin to encounter a faceless evil that has been following them for years and has finally decided to make itself known. COMPLETE
1. Witches, Coffee, and Murder

For Maura Isles, senior year of high school meant she was almost finished with waking up every morning in a home where her parents didn't care to give her the time of day. It also meant attending an all-girls private school without feeling much excitement over the fact she would be graduating soon. _Just one more check off the list for a valedictorian on the path to medical school,_ she would imagine, often visualizing herself as merely a specific, quantifiable array of facts. This particular approach to describing people, including herself, did seem to dispassionately dehumanize them just a bit, but what can we truly rely on other than cold, hard facts?

Her cool, calculated personality often distanced Maura from her peers. She had decided that that was how she liked things to be and didn't seem to mind the fact that the other girls said a variety of things about her, often not even bothering to lower their voices when she passed. Of all the comments she had mentally recorded, the most likely to be repeated went along the lines of:

_She doesn't have a friend because the genius doesn't even know how have a normal conversation..._

_Her own parents spend all their time traveling because they don't care to be with her..._

_She might be beautiful, but she never gets past a first date because she can't help scaring guys away by diagnosing them with obscure medical conditions..._

_How will she ever survive medical school or even become a doctor when she can't handle being around other people...?_

The list could be quite lengthy, Maura would consider, everything on it with a varying amount of truth. But that was the thing, she thought sadly, every one of those things had at least some truth to them. On the rare occasion that she would allow herself to feel sad because of her situation, she would just shake it off and tell herself that she really was lucky to not have to dedicate a substantial amount of time to socializing and keeping petty people happy.

_In the long-run, I'm quite lucky, really, _she would think. With all her spare time she could devote herself to preparing for the medical classes she would be attending once she began her first semester at Boston Cambridge University, just as her parents expected of her.

* * *

For Jane Rizzoli, senior year of high school meant she was finally almost done with public education and was one step closer to entering the police academy. That had been her dream and driving ambition for as long as she could remember. She never even considered aiming for another career because she knew she was born to be a detective. Her senior year also meant she would soon be able to move out of the house and away from her family, and although she loved each of them dearly, they drove her crazy. There was way too much unbridled Italian pride and passion to be contained under one roof.

"Jane Clementine Rizzoli, where do you think you're going?" the mother asked as her daughter stomped toward the front door.

Jane had to get out of the house. There was no way she was going to subject herself to an entire day alone with her mother, the wildly animate Angela Rizzoli.

"Really, Ma? Do you have to use my middle name?" she groaned.

"I do if that's the only way to get you to respond! And you know I need to know where you're going. Don't you think I at least deserve to know where my daughter chooses to be instead of spending some quality time with her own mother?" she asked, the strong Boston accent thick with a steaming side of guilt.

"Fine, Ma," Jane responded. "I'm just going to take a bus to Salem to walk around a bit and check out the museums and sites."

"Well, alright," her mother relented, "I know you love it there, and at least you'll be immersing yourself in a little history. How many times have you been there now? Seven, eight...?"

"Too many to count," the younger woman responded, a smile finding its way to her face as she grabbed her keys. "I really do love it there. There's something about the horror and mystery of it all that has this gravitational pull on me."

"I know, dear. Well, be careful, call me when you get off the bus so I know you get there safely, and be home in time for dinner!"

"Yes, Ma!" she called behind her as she closed the door and rolled her eyes. _Finally - a day to myself._ This didn't happen too often for her, and she fully intended on enjoying every minute of her day.

* * *

Maura Isles took in a deep breath, loving the smell of the crisp autumn morning. She was glad she had decided to leave the house today. She'd done enough studying and had finished an English paper that wasn't due for another week, so she felt she deserved to go out and enjoy the end of her weekend. She couldn't help smiling to herself as she thought of what her parents would think of her using the "dreadful public transportation" - otherwise known as a bus. They would have instructed her to use their chauffeur, but they likely wouldn't even know she was gone. She was very conscientious though, and had left a note in her room just in case her absence was actually noticed.

Maura did love her parents and felt that they loved her in their own way, she just wished they might make it more apparent once in awhile. She often wondered what it would have been like to have been raised by her biological parents, but would quickly dismiss the thought because it did not matter who had produced the egg and sperm that created her - they either had not wanted her or were not able to care for her and in either case she was better off. And though she knew this argument was logically sound, she couldn't help wondering if her feisty, slightly rebellious streak she indulged herself in every once in awhile was a part of her nature - something inherited from those parents she had never known.

These thoughts ended as Maura approached one of her favorite spots in the city: Witch Dungeon Museum. She smiled as she walked in and joined a tour that was just about to start. She hadn't been on this one for several years so she figured she was overdue. Maura loved the animated tour guides and secretly wished she had the bravery or charisma they had._ It could have been a fun summer job, but oh well. _She ignored the thought as the tour began and she let herself become caught up in the spooky mystique that she loved. Her favorite parts were the reenactment of the trial of Elizabeth Proctor, a real woman who had been accused of practicing witchcraft, and the tour of the dungeon. Although the dungeon was only a replica, she felt it was a fairly accurate representation of the conditions the supposed witches faced while awaiting trial.

Maura smiled as she left the building, thinking about a new favorite part of this particular tour: there had been a girl about her age with untamed, curly dark hair who was very entertaining to listen to and not half bad to look at. She had asked a lot of questions, most of them about the more grisly details of the dungeon, and Maura realized she had missed most of the actual reenactment because this girl was silently mouthing almost the entire dialogue of the actors, complete with all the proper expressions and dramatic flair. The two girls were in the back of the group and this brunette had probably thought she was far enough away from Maura that she wouldn't notice. _But I'm glad I did! _she thought with a chuckle.

Maura stopped as she approached the replicas of wooden stocks - an old-fashioned instrument of punishment. She could never pass them without sticking in her head and arms, imagining what it would have been like to stand there for hours or even days on end, subject to the mockery of the public. _Maybe I do have an idea of what was like, _she considered thoughtfully. With her head hung down she hadn't noticed the brunette who approached and watched her in amusement for several silent moments.

_That looks like the pretty blonde who was in the same tour as me earlier_, she thought. _She seemed like she was alone, maybe she wouldn't mind some company..._

"It's too bad I forgot my rotten tomato," Jane called, effectively announcing her presence.

Maura had been wrapped up in her own thoughts and was completely surprised when she heard the voice in front of her. She lifted her head to find the same brunette she had been watching before was now watching her.

"Excuse me?" Maura finally asked, not connecting why she would bring up decaying fruit as a conversation starter.

"I forgot my rotten tomato," Jane repeated with a smirk. "Which is a shame for me but lucky for you because now I can't throw it at the pretty girl in the stocks," she hesitated for a moment when the blonde only replied with a raised eyebrow. She started to explain, "It's what they used to do..."

"I know that," Maura replied, cutting her off with exasperation. "You're quite ridiculous, you know," she added with a pointed stare.

"I'm ridiculous?" the brunette asked incredulously. "Look at you!" she laughed, gesturing to the blonde in her current position. She stepped closer and whispered, "I'm not the one standing hunched over by myself in the stocks."

"Ohh," Maura groaned in response as she removed herself from what had in fact just become an instrument of punishment for her. "You are impossible, and I am leaving," she announced as she turned and started to walk without looking back.

_I can't let this girl go - she is way too entertaining! _Jane thought as she decided to push her luck. They didn't know each other, anyway, so if she ended up despising Jane after all then there was really no loss to either of them.

Jane ran to catch up with her and couldn't keep the sly smile from her face as she turned to look at the other girl and asked, "So, where are we going next?"

"_We _aren't going anywhere," Maura huffed in disbelief at how forward and undaunted this girl was. "I came here alone to enjoy a quiet day in one of my favorite places and I intend to continue doing just that."

"Well, we have that in common!" Jane announced with a smile. "I came here alone to enjoy one of my favorite places too, but I don't think I intend on continuing alone anymore," she added, clearly suggesting her intentions. "We've already been on a tour and at the stocks together, so we might as well stay together."

"I'm afraid you'll have to look for a companion elsewhere," Maura ended as she turned, determined to get away from this girl who she was surprised to learn had noticed her on the tour as well.

"Hey now, what did I do? Honestly, I'm just trying to be friendly, but I know I can be a little too 'in your face' sometimes. Here, let me buy you a cup of coffee in that shop over there to make it up to you," she said with a hopeful smile.

Maura let herself believe the brunette for just a second, but then shook her head. "Please. You're just making fun of me, and teasing me with the idea of you being friendly. You must have thought I looked pretty funny there in the stocks all by myself and now you're just eager to continue the mockery." She continued with a half-hearted laugh, "You were probably already making fun of me for something in the tour but I just hadn't noticed yet. So again, I'm afraid I'll have to reject your offer, because I get enough of this from all the people in my life that I have to see everyday, so I'm certainly not going to endure it with someone I don't need to see again. Goodbye," she said sadly and started walking the other way.

Jane just stood there stunned for a moment._ Did I really just hear that? Is this girl serious? How could anyone so beautiful be treated the way she just implied everyone in her life treated her? There's no way... But that sad look in her eyes told the story more than her words. She really was telling the truth..._

Jane decided she would try once more to get in this girl's good graces and ran again to catch up with her.

"Please," she said, stopping in front of the blonde, "hear me out. I'm really sorry if all that about you is true, but your assumptions about me aren't."

"Of course the part about me is true. I can't lie," she explained curtly. "And I never assume. My conclusions about you were formed based on circumstantial evidence that correlates to similar behaviors observed in my peers," she stated matter-of-factly.

"Whoa. I didn't quite follow all of that," Jane admitted, "but I promise you were wrong about me. I made a total ass of myself and I'm really sorry. Look, if I didn't care then I would just walk away without a problem and go on being a jerk, but that's not me. Please let me make it up to you. Do you like coffee?" she asked, hoping she was able to convey how honest she was.

Maura analyzed the brunette carefully. _Her pupils aren't dilating which seems to indicate she's telling the truth and her expression actually does appear to be sincere... But no one has ever expressed genuine interest in me. How can I be sure this won't backfire? I guess I really can't be sure, and the only logical way to proceed is to collect empirical data on the matter to determine the plausibility of this offer._

"I do like coffee," she answered, allowing the statement to show her assent.

"Great!" the brunette replied, a huge grin replacing her worried frown. "I'm Jane by the way. Jane Rizzoli," she said, extending her hand.

"Maura Isles," she responded with a slight smile, offering her hand in return.

Jane was thrilled that she had managed to crack the ice of this so far icy encounter. She linked her arm in Maura's as they headed for the coffee shop. "So, Maura Isles," she began. "Tell me about yourself..."

* * *

Maura and Jane left the shop together both with faces aglow despite the chilly fall wind that whipped around them.

"Jane, your family sounds hilarious!" the blonde exclaimed, laughing after hearing another tale of Rizzoli family antics.

"Yeah, that's one way to put it," Jane chuckled, glad that she had unexpectedly made this new friend. Then she had an idea, "Hey, do you wanna get out of the hustle and bustle of all these tourists for a while and go for a walk?"

"That sounds lovely," Maura agreed with a smile.

They chatted easily as they walked through a beautiful area thick with trees without any care about how much time was passing, thoroughly enjoying each others presence, especially since they had been away from the distraction of other people for quite a while now. They discussed their families, schools, interests, and plans for the future - both a bit shocked at how they could be so completely different and yet get along so well.

"I can't believe just a few hours ago I think we were both wanting to strangle each other in frustration," Jane laughed.

"Strangle each other? Jane, I would never even imagine something like that," the blonde said seriously.

Jane snorted, recalling that this girl had quite the one-track mind. "I know, Maur, but it was just an exaggeration!" she explained with a laugh.

"Oh, right," she said, now understanding. "I have to remember that you tend to speak with such hyperbolic terminology."

Both girls broke into a fit of laughter as they continued to walk. After a few moments Jane became strangely quiet and Maura tilted her head wondering what had brought on her sudden silence. "What is it, Jane?" she asked.

"Shh, just a second," the brunette whispered. "I thought I heard something."

Both girls stood anxiously as an eery silence fell around them, both wishing they knew what was beyond the trees they were surrounded by.

After a couple minutes Jane just shrugged, "Well, I guess it was nothing," she decided and they continued to walk.

Just then, the two girls stopped dead in their tracks as they realized what they were now hearing was unmistakably a woman's bloodcurdling scream in the distance.

* * *

**Author's Note: Hooray for more Rizzles! I got the idea for this story not long after finishing my last one - I think I'm addicted! Please leave reviews and share your opinions with me. As always, I'm open to any and all feedback. Thanks! :)**


	2. An Offer and Acceptance

"Her body's still warm, Jane. That scream was hers."

"Well, can you figure out what happened to her? And tell me without all the medical jargon?"

"Look at the indentation on the skin around her neck here," Maura pointed out. "She was strangled from behind with something fairly thick."

"Like a rope or a cable?" Jane offered.

"I would think that, except there's no ribbing or striations that you would likely see with one of those. Whatever it was was smooth..." she paused as she considered a strange detail.

Maura tilted her head. "Well this is odd."

Jane waited for her to explain. "Yes, Maura...?" she asked with exasperation.

Maura paused another moment before answering. "Well, whatever was used to strangle her left a slightly slimy residue." Her brows furrowed as she considered a possible explanation. "I had a marine botany class last year and if I'm not mistaken, I believe this woman was murdered with... Well, I really shouldn't jump to conclusions, Jane. I couldn't be sure of what it was unless I were able to run some tests to further analyze the composition of the substance on her neck."

"Are you thinking she was strangled with a piece of seaweed?" Jane guessed.

"Yes, actually," came the blonde's stunned reply. "How in the world did you-"

"Look," Jane said, effectively cutting her off as she pointed to the cast aside supposed murder weapon that was partially concealed in a bush.

"There are footsteps here, Maur, leading away from the girl," Jane also pointed out.

"The prints are obviously not hers because they are far too large," Maura noted. "They're probably from whoever did this to her, which was likely a man, judging by the foot size," she decided as Jane nodded, having just come to the same conclusions.

"I should follow these prints," Jane said. "I should have done that as soon as we found her and I might have caught the guy!" she groaned, kicking herself for not thinking of it sooner.

Maura grabbed her arm to stop her. "No, Jane. I am not going to let you do that. I know you aspire to be a homicide detective, but that is not a good enough reason for me to let you take off after the man who just murdered this woman. There's no telling what would happen if you did catch up to him. We need to call the police. That's what we should have done immediately," she added.

Jane nodded resignedly, realizing she was right. Even though this kind of thing was exactly what Jane wanted to do with her life - deliver some hard, cold justice to the cruel people who committed such horrible crimes - she knew that she wasn't there yet, and likely wasn't mentally or physically prepared for whatever awaited the person who would track down this perp.

"Yeah, you're right, Maur," she admitted, pulling out her phone. "I'm calling it in right now."

* * *

"Why a piece of seaweed, though?" Jane voiced her question aloud as she sat down on a park bench and ran a hand through her unruly mane of curls.

"I have no idea," the blonde admitted as she sat down as well, pulling her feet up and turning so she could face the brunette. "I do remember reading an article about an English woman in 2002 who attempted to strangle her 15-month-old child with strands of seaweed..."

"Geez, thanks for the happy story," Jane muttered.

"Well, I only said 'attempted', Jane," she clarified. "The woman was stopped before she could actually asphyxiate the poor child, who did end up living."

"And we're not that far from the coast," Maura added, glancing toward it in the east, "so it wouldn't be too hard to acquire an adequate piece of seaweed to use as a weapon."

"But that's so weird. I mean, what are we dealing with here? I think it was Captain Jack in the ballroom with the seaweed," Jane said in a husky voice.

"Jane, this is hardly a matter to joke about," Maura rebuked. "Plus, it's not something _we_ are dealing with," she added earnestly. "It's now in the hands of the Salem Police Department."

"Yeah, yeah. I know," Jane sighed. "But you know this is exactly what I want to do, Maura. And my plan is to make homicide by the time I'm thirty," she said with a broad smile as she could picture herself now, a gun and holster on her hip with a badge that carried the authority and respect she had always craved.

"I do know. And I envy that part of you, Jane," she admitted.

"What?" Jane asked skeptically. "Yeah, right. You are a genius with the path all lined up for you to go to BCU and become a doctor. That's something I could never do."

"I'm serious, Jane. Not that I want to be a homicide detective, but you know exactly what you want to do and you have the ambition and talent to achieve it. I was quite impressed with your deductive reasoning and keen eye today, Detective Rizzoli," she said, trying out the sound of the woman's future title.

"Why thank you, Doctor Isles," she replied with a smile. "Those names don't sound half bad, do they?" she paused, recalling something the blonde had mentioned a moment ago. "But hey, what do you mean you envy that I know exactly what I want to do? You're all set up to go to med school, and you've got the grades, money, and brains that mean nothing should hold you back from achieving that dream too."

"I don't really know that it is my dream, Jane," she admitted. "It's what my parents have always expected, so I think I just adopted their plan for me. I'm not good with people though, Jane. I'm really not. How can I expect to be an effective doctor if I can hardly maintain eye contact, let alone a conversation, and I can't treat patients when I'm constantly smothered by my own social anxiety," she hung her head, saddened by the truth she had never told another person.

"Hey, Maur," Jane whispered kindly, extending a hand to lift the other girl's chin so that their eyes met. "What about the great conversations we've been having all day? I mean, we just met but I've talked to you more and you've probably seen more of who I am than the people I hang out with at school. That's got to count for something, right?"

Maura paused, amazed by the truth of the brunette's words. "You know, you're right, Jane," was all she could say, which inspired a kind chuckle to come from her new friend.

"I hadn't even taken today into consideration," she continued. "I've been a socially awkward pariah my whole life, so that's just naturally how I think of myself. But today... You..." she couldn't quite find the words to say.

"Why do you look so confused, Maur?" Jane laughed again. "We obviously have a different chemistry together than we've had with the other people in our lives. That's not too strange, is it? I mean, people are bound to find something a bit extraordinary every now and then throughout their otherwise very ordinary lives, right?"

Jane felt an inexplicable pang of guilt as she saw a lone tear spring from one of Maura's beautiful hazel eyes. "Whoa, I'm sorry," she stammered. "Was it something I said?"

Now Maura laughed, "Yes, actually. That was beautiful, Jane, what you described. I think that fits us perfectly."

"Well that's a first," Jane muttered, then explained as Maura looked at her questioningly, "I don't think I've ever been accused of speaking 'beautiful' words."

This brought a new wave of laughter from Maura, and as Jane joined in she couldn't help thinking it was one of the best sounds she had ever heard.

A smiling Maura wiped the tear from her face as she admired the woman across from her. "I truly have never met someone quite like you, Jane Rizzoli," she said. "And my body's never exhibited a similar set of reactions when I've been with another person," she added thoughtfully, wondering if she could figure out a way to explain her body's anomaly.

Jane gulped silently, considering the unexpected reactions her body seemed to be having in response to the elegant woman sitting next to her._ It's not attraction,_ she decided._ I don't like girls like that. I am straight. I, Jane Rizzoli, am just a regular, herterosexual American girl._ She seemed satisfied with that train of thought for the moment._ I've honestly never met someone quite like this Maura Isles, so it's only natural for me to feel differently than I ever have with other people. Right? Right. Of course._

Jane just laughed in effort to ignore her previous thoughts. "I think you're pretty great too, Maur."

_My, she has quite the charming smile,_ Maura considered._ And beautiful, full lips. I wonder what they would feel like? Wait, why in the world did I just think that? I did not just think that. I am not attracted to women. I have only ever dated men. Of course, I've never been on a second date with a guy... But what does that matter? I'm simply attracted to this woman as a friend, which obviously would be a new and difficult feeling for me to understand and interpret because I've never had a real friend before,_ she decided, satisfied with her logical explanation.

"In fact," Jane smiled thoughtfully, "you were nothing short of amazing earlier today, my dear Watson."

"Why are you referring to me as 'Watson', Jane?" Maura asked, completely serious.

"Uh, it's just a reference, Maur. An allusion to the fabulous Sherlock Holmes and his partner, Doctor John H. Watson. Holmes is a detective who works with Watson to solve mysteries."

"Why, that sounds a bit like us!" Maura announced happily, finally connecting the dots.

"Exactly," Jane rolled her eyes, wondering if anyone could make a reference or tell a joke without having to it explain to this woman.

"But like I said," Jane continued, "You were seriously amazing, Maura. The way you took in the scene, analyzed the evidence in front of you, and reached those conclusions about what had happened to that woman..." she shook her head in disbelief. "I couldn't have done that. Sure I've got a good eye, but you've got the medical knowledge that a cop doesn't have along with some good detective instincts of your own." Jane considered everything she had noticed about this woman so far. "You know, Maur, I think today you may have found your calling in life after all."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"I mean you spoke for that woman, Maura. Because of that man she will never be able to speak for herself again, but you - you helped her. You told the story that few people could tell."

Maura tilted her head thoughtfully, considering the truth in what her friend was saying.

"And what's more, if you did something like this as a career, you wouldn't have to worry about screaming patients and the intense pressures of an operating room or emergency room. You wouldn't be the one to jump out of an ambulance and have to make split-second decisions that might save or lose a person's life," Jane looked to Maura expectantly, wondering if she was on the same page.

"Jane," she whispered in disbelief. "I think you may be right. This career that you're proposing - one of a medical examiner - is one I never really considered because it seemed too morbid. I'm not frightened of the human body - I truly am fascinated by every facet of its inner working, in fact. It's people themselves that often keep me introverted. Someone who was dead though, they would never make fun of me, whisper things behind my back, or ask with fear in their eyes if they were going to make it through the night."

Maura stood up now and began pacing in front of the bench where Jane sat watching, very amused by the scene in front of her.

"The sight of that woman today did not frighten me at all, which is truly quite odd, and would be just another thing the girls at school would add to the list of my quirks..."

"Don't even think about them, Maur. Not now," Jane instructed. "Keep going," she added, sensing that the girl in front of her needed to process her thoughts out loud.

"You're right, Jane. I haven't let them get to me before and I sure as hell won't now," she stated, enjoying the newfound confidence she was feeling. "So I was able to approach that dead girl completely unflustered, which would have been the case if I were just walking into a room to give even a simple inspection of a child. And I didn't just feel sorry for her, I felt intuitively that I needed to try to explain what happened. I knew I could understand her last few minutes if I just studied the evidence in front of me."

"And you totally did, Maura," Jane agreed. When the police arrived they confirmed everything we told them we had figured out. "It felt pretty good, didn't it?" she smiled.

"It really did, Jane. We may not have been the professionals, or even the ones to continue the search and hopefully bring that murderer to justice, but I think we could have. We both had the intuition to put the pieces together."

"Well who knows, Doctor Isles," Jane said with a smile, "we just might find ourselves working side by side again someday - professionally."

"I think I'd like that, Detective Rizzoli," she responded with an adorable wide grin.

"Oh, my," Maura announced suddenly. "It's getting late," she realized as she noticed the setting sun. "I better get back home, Jane. I've got school tomorrow. And I'm sure you do too," she added.

"Nah, I'm just homeschooled," Jane said nonchalantly.

"Really?" Maura asked, surprised.

"Ha, no! That would be a joke. I could never be homeschooled. If you knew my family you'd understand. And spending a whole day with my mother would be torture! In fact, that's why I came out here today. My dad dragged my brothers off to help with one of his plumbing gigs, so it would have just been me and mom today and she no doubt would have dragged me off to Sunday brunch in some place whose name neither of us could pronounce."

Maura just laughed. "Jane, you are incredibly entertaining to listen to. I bet I would like the rest of your family."

Jane snorted incredulously, "You'd have to be crazy to willingly spend time with the Rizzoli family." She tilted her head at the blonde thoughtfully. "But then again, you are a bit delusional, Maura Isles, so maybe you should come and meet them sometime."

Maura scoffed, "Delusional? What do you -" Maura stopped when she noticed the now familiar gleam in Jane's eyes. "You were being sarcastic, weren't you?"

Jane shrugged, "Mostly."

Maura rolled her eyes, knowing that one word was laced with even more sarcasm. She suddenly remembered what the brunette had just appeared to have offered her. "But were you serious when you said I should meet your family?"

Jane shifted nervously under the analytical gaze of the future doctor. "Uh, well, not if you don't want to, of course. I was kind of just throwing that out there. It made sense at the time. I mean, we just met today so really..."

Jane was cut short when Maura held out her hand. "Give me your phone." It was clearly a demand and Jane just raised an eyebrow, pulled her phone out of her back pocket, and placed it in Maura's outstretched hand.

"You gonna tell me what you're doing?" she asked as she watched the blonde pressing buttons methodically.

"There," Maura announced, handing the phone back to its owner. "Now you have my number and I expect to hear from you about a time I can visit soon," she said with a sly smile. "No excuses, Jane Rizzoli."

Jane just swallowed, thinking that this woman could quite possibly be very seductive when that voice was coupled with that smile.

"You got it, Maur," she finally answered with a smile.

"Good," blonde said happily. "Now I'm afraid I really have to go. Thank you, Jane," she said, grabbing the other girl's hands to pull her up to a standing position in front of her and giving her a warm hug. "Thank you for being my friend and for quite an extraordinary day."

Jane smiled and squeezed back. "You're welcome. And thank you, Maur. We'll definitely hang out again soon."

"I'm planning on it," she said, pulling back but not letting the brunette's hands drop just yet. "Now if you'll excuse me, Detective, I need to go research what becoming a medical examiner is going to entail," Muara stated and then took Jane completely by surprise when she placed a soft kiss on her cheek. She smiled when the brunette's jaw dropped slightly, making a mental note to consider the meaning behind such a physiological response, and then turned to leave and catch the next bus home.


	3. The Favor

_I can't believe it's been over four years since the day I first met Jane,_ Maura thought to herself as she stared at her laptop, flipping through her favorite pictures that represented what felt like a lifetime of memories she shared with her best friend.

She smiled as she updated her Facebook profile picture to one they had taken on Sunday when they spent the day in Salem together to commemorate how their favorite place had brought them together. Maura laughed at the memory as she looked at the picture of her and Jane smiling side by side in the same coffee shop where they had their first civil conversation.

They had been inseparable since then, even now as Maura was preparing for the final exams that would signify the completion of her undergraduate degree at BCU and Jane was wrapping up her first year as a Boston Police Officer, her dreams of becoming a homicide detective stronger than ever.

_Speak of the devil,_ Maura chuckled as her phone started ringing. "Jane! I was just thinking about you! What's up?"

"What a coincidence - I was thinking about you! You'll never guess what I just learned from Korsak."

Maura rolled her eyes, thinking that of course she would never guess. Maura had heard a lot about Korsak: Jane said he's an experienced homicide detective who's taken a liking to her and taken her under his wing a bit. _Which is a good thing, too, because Jane's sometimes brash personality doesn't always win her friends. She'll need someone to put in a good name for her in the unit over the next few years._

"Let me see, you're getting promoted early to homicide because of your charming smile and good looks?" Maura said laughing, secretly grateful she could use humor to convey the compliments and thoughts she had felt deeply for her friend for as long as she could remember but could never completely admit.

"Why, Doctor Isles, is that sarcasm I'm detecting? You really are learning something with that fancy university degree!"

Maura laughed again. "Whatever, Jane, you know it's from spending too much time with you. So what did you really find out?"

"Well, do you happen to remember a certain case involving a woman murdered with a piece of seaweed?"

Maura snapped to attention. "Of course! I haven't thought about it in forever but how could I forget? Why do you bring it up?"

"Turns out it does pay to try to make friends," Jane teased. "I asked Korsak to help me find out the details of the case and I've got the file right in front of me. I only have it for the next five minutes but I thought you would want to hear about our first case together and all the info we weren't privy to before."

"Jane, you're amazing. Now be quick and tell me!"

"I know I am," the brunette stated bluntly. "So the victim's name was Ellen Ward, cause of death: strangulation with a piece of seaweed. You totally nailed it, Maur!" she gleefully added. "And now for what we didn't know at the time: They caught the perp without too much trouble because they were able to collect his prints off of the seaweed. Crazy, huh? Who'da thunk. Turns out he was a psycho ex-boyfriend who was not happy that she left him when she realized how crazy he was... So he follows her til she's alone, strangles her, lands himself in prison, and just ends up proving her right about him not being right in the head."

"Poor Ellen," Maura murmured. "I'm glad justice was delivered for her, though."

"Yeah, me too. I'm finding that it's more often than not that things aren't quite so neat and tidy in this world," Jane said thoughtfully. "Okay, I've gotta go. Korsak's giving me _the look_ so I better give him back the file since he's bending a couple rules for me here. I'm glad I thought to look her up though. It's kind of nice to know how it turned out, huh?"

"It really is," Maura said with a content sigh. "And to know that everything we had concluded was right! Maybe we really are cut out for these careers we have ahead of us."

"Of course we are!" Jane replied confidently. "Kay, now I really have to go. But I'll see you Friday, yeah? Movie at my place?"

"I wouldn't miss it, Jane! Have a great day!" Maura was smiling as she ended the call, proud that she had such an amazing woman to call her best friend.

* * *

"You're the man, Korsak," Jane said as she placed Ellen Ward's file back in the detective's hands. "Thanks. I totally owe you one."

"Yes you do, Rizzoli, and I've already figured out a way you can pay me back!" he answered happily.

"Uh, I'm not sure about this idea of yours. I don't think I like that look in your eyes..."

"Whatever, Rizzoli. Now listen. I want to set you up on a date with my nephew, Charlie," he said, watching expectantly for her reaction.

Jane just groaned, "Really? C'mon, man, that's totally not fair. That's not the kind of payback I talking about!"

Korsak just laughed, "Hey, hear me out on this one. I met up with him for dinner a few nights ago, you came up in the conversation, and he seemed really interested and kept asking questions about you."

"Sounds like a creeper to me," she muttered, going with her hunch.

"C'mon, Rizzoli, it's just one date. I mean," he lowered his voice, "when was the last time you were on a real date? Seriously?"

"Okay, I am so not going to stand here and divulge my personal life with you!" she said. _But if you count all the hours and days I spend with Maura, which I've always wanted to consider as dates even if she doesn't know that, then I've been steadily with the same person for years._

"That's what I thought. And he doesn't get out too much either, but he's twenty-six, really smart, and a good-lookin kid. In fact, he's working on his graduate degree in medicine right now at BCU! And hey, isn't that where your friend you're always hanging out with goes to school too? And studying to be a doctor?"

"Maura? Yep, that's her." _She's also the only BCU medical student I need._

"So what do you say, Jane? One little favor for me? And after all I've done for you..." he added, feeling a little guilt would work to his benefit. "It's only one date. I promise you'll like him and who knows what might come of it?"

Jane silently considered the request for a moment and knew she really owed him at least a dozen favors with everything he'd done for her, so this was the least she could do if it made him happy.

"Alright, old man," she said with a slight smile. "You can give him my number because I'm sure not going to be arranging this whole thing." At that she turned and left the room, not wanting to continue that conversation at all, and wished she could smack Korsak's stupid triumphant look right off his face.

* * *

Jane gave herself one last look-over in the mirror before leaving for her date with Charlie. _Well, I'm not going to fuss over how I look. I don't even know this guy and for me, wearing jeans that don't have holes is dressing up._

She tried to quickly sneak downstairs and out the door without her mother seeing her, but who can hide from Angela Rizzoli?

"Oh, Janie, you look so lovely! Ready for your date with that doctor?" she asked with obvious joy that her daughter had finally snagged herself a medical man.

"Ma, it's just one date and he's not even a doctor yet. Just a med student."

"Whatever you say, dear. Now make sure you enjoy yourself, but don't come home too late!"

"I won't, Ma," Jane sighed, getting exasperated because this conversation was making her later than she already was. "Besides, Maura's coming over afterward for our usual movie night so I won't be gone long at all. Just dinner. Bye!" she called as she rushed out the door before her mother could get in another word.

As Jane drove to the restaurant she was grateful she had suggested meeting somewhere between her home and BCU even though Charlie had at first insisted on picking her up. _Maybe chivalry isn't dead. Maybe he'll be the kind of guy who opens a door for me and all that. Goodness knows there isn't a single man in my life who does act that way around me. Maybe because I don't really let them, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't mind them trying..._

Jane had insisted they meet somewhere halfway so that he wouldn't have to go so far out of his way, but she also did so for more selfish reasons. She really was too independent to let a guy suddenly walk in her life and try to be Prince Charming. She also liked having her own getaway car, especially on a first date and even more so when it was a blind date. Who knows the kinds of crazy things you might have to endure when you're forced to share a meal with a person you don't even know?

_Who knows who this kid could be? At least he knows from Korsak that I'm an officer and that I know how to defend myself if he tries to make a move. But of course, he is his nephew and Kosak totally has a soft spot for me, so if the guy was a genuine creep he wouldn't let him near me._

As Jane pulled into a parking spot in front of the restaurant, she paused for a moment and took a deep breath, preparing herself for what would hopefully not be a completely awkward experience. She chuckled as she stepped out of the car.

_I wonder what embarrassing stories I'll be able to entertain Maura with tonight? I'm glad I have her company to look forward to after this. I wonder what she thinks about me going out on this date? She seemed just a little off when I told her about it over the phone the other day, but maybe she was just thinking I was going to cancel our movie night, which I never would._

Jane laughed as she remembered the last time their routine Friday movie night was put off two years ago. Jane had broken her leg after a stupid stunt on a dare from her brothers that involved attempting to ride a skateboard off the top of a house into a pool. _It hurt like hell but it sure made a good story! It sucked having to spend the night in the hospital, but then again, Maura did end up joining me there and we watched one of her sappy romantic comedies together on my bed with her laptop. Even though I fell asleep I guess that still counts, so I can't even think of the last time we missed a movie night..._

When Jane stepped through the front doors of the restaurant a handsome young man rose from one of the waiting chairs.

"Jane?"

"Yep, that would be me," she replied, wanting to kick herself for already starting out totally awkward. She was surprised by how attractive this guy actually was.

"Well, good! Then we're both in the right place. I'm Charlie," he said with a kind smile and held out his hand. Jane shook it and just smiled back, still feeling dumb because she didn't know what to say.

"Sorry," she laughed nervously after a silence that lasted a beat too long. "I'm not really good at this kind of thing. I mean, sure this morning I could hold my own just fine against the hulking 6'5" ex-con who got in my face and wanted to fight my parking citation, but here I either can't find the words or I turn into a rambling fool, and here I am still rambling..." _Geez, why don't I just put a gag in my mouth to shut up and get the hell out of here while I still have an ounce of dignity!_

Charlie just laughed, still with a kind gleam in his eyes. "You know, my Uncle Vince said you were funny. And in a good way," he added, seeing Jane's skeptical look.

"Wanna hear something embarrassing about me?" he offered with a grin.

"Yes, please," Jane laughed, grateful that he was taking her awkwardness in stride and wasn't repulsed by her before they had even been shown to their table.

"So I think my uncle told you I'm a grad student at BCU, right?"

Jane nodded. "Studying to become a doctor?"

"Right. But he probably didn't tell you that I'm a total theater nerd."

Jane laughed. "You? A thespian? No kidding!"

"No kidding," he said chuckling as they were led to their table. "I've been into acting ever since I was a little kid and I'm still keeping it up at BCU on the side."

Charlie quickly stepped in front of Jane to pull out her chair as she sat down. Jane couldn't help smiling as she lowered herself into the chair.

"Wow, Korsak failed to mention you were such a gentleman!" she laughed as he sat down across from her. "Or is it all an act?" she teased, starting to feel a bit more comfortable.

"Well, that's the thing about great actors, Jane," he said and then leaned forward with a whisper, "you can never tell reality from theatricality!"

They laughed together and Jane noted that he really was attractive. She didn't normally like or get along with guys that were so obviously good looking, but he was kind and only playfully cocky, not so outwardly arrogant like most attractive guys she knew. He was tall and had dark blonde curly hair. He could use a haircut but Jane didn't mind the boyish look it gave him. It seemed to add to his overall likability and fit his easygoing attitude.

Once they ordered their food Jane thought of a topic she knew she could go on about for hours, but decided to keep fairly short - just something to keep the conversation flowing.

"My best friend Maura actually goes to BCU," she began, "so I'm up there a lot on the weekends to hang out with her and know the campus pretty well. It's beautiful over there."

"Yeah, I really love it," Charlie agreed. "So what's your friend studying?"

Jane took a long sip from her water. "Medicine as well, actually. She's just finishing up her bachelor's and is graduating next week," Jane reported, clearly proud of her friend.

"Good for her!" Charlie said with a wide grin. "None of the medical programs are easy, so it's definitely a satisfying accomplishment when you reach the milestones. So what does she want to do in the medical field?"

"She's set on becoming a medical examiner," Jane stated, then laughed at Charlie's surprised expression.

"No kidding, huh? That seems a bit of a morbid future to be looking forward to. Not that there's anything wrong with that," he quickly added, not wanting to talk down the friend that the attractive girl across from him was clearly protective of. "I mean, I want to become a surgeon which will definitely have its grisly moments. But we all do it because we want to make a difference, and that's pretty admirable, actually, that she wants to become a forensic pathologist. I'm sure she'll do really well."

"Yeah, she will," Jane smiled as she agreed. "That woman's a genius and she's been aiming for becoming an ME since we were eighteen. You probably couldn't picture it if you just met her," Jane explained, "she's gorgeous and very clean and immaculate. It's almost funny to imagine her manicured hands being elbow-deep in a corpse one day."

Charlie chuckled in agreement as they thanked the waitress for bringing their steaming plates of fresh food. "You must be really good friends," Charlie observed as they started to eat. "I can tell just from the way you talk about her that you must be pretty close."

"Yeah, we are," Jane replied with a smile, trying to remember to swallow her food before she continued to speak. "We've been best friends since we met four years ago and now I can't imagine not having her in my life. She knows all about me and we talk about everything."

"So then she must've heard about me, right?" he asked with a wry smile.

"Possibly..." Jane replied, returning the look.

Charlie laughed, "So what will be the report on me when you call Maura with all the juicy details tonight?"

"Well," Jane said, "that is yet to be determined, Mr. Manners."

"Ooh, just don't call me that, okay? 'Mr. Manners' is definitely not a sexy codename for a guy."

Jane laughed. "Alright, then what would be your sexy codename for me?" she asked, raising an eyebrow playfully.

"That is yet to be determined," he replied coyly.

"Ooh, touché," she laughed. "Fine, you win! For now. So tell me about your family. You haven't mentioned them yet."

"Well," he replied, appearing hesitant for the first time all night, "they're not a topic I usually bring up..."

"Oh, c'mon. Trust me, they can't be as embarrassing as mine, so spill."

He let out an audible sigh. "Well, my parents are dead, actually. They died in a car crash a couple years ago and the only relative I have now is Uncle Vince."

Jane sat there stunned at this revelation, feeling like a complete idiot for what she had said.

"Oh, geez, Charlie. I'm so sorry. I had no idea - Korsak never mentioned..."

"It's okay, Jane," he tried to wave off her unease and laughed quietly with a shrug. "I don't blame him for never mentioning it. It was really hard on both of us. It was his baby sister and her husband and it left me alone. Luckily I was old enough to be independent and I had the good fortune of inheriting the nice house where I grew up on Beacon Street along with a substantial nest egg that's been paying for my education."

"Wow," Jane muttered, still in disbelief at what she had learned about this guy. "So do you rent out the house since you're living at BCU?"

"No," Charlie answered. "I keep the house as it was and use it for me and the occasional guests." He continued, "I really feel incredibly fortunate. And Uncle Vince has always been so good to me. He treats me to dinner about once a month so we can catch up and he makes sure I'm doing okay. And I'm going to really owe him one for setting me up with such a beautiful, smart, funny, attractively badass girl," he ended with a flirtatious smirk.

Jane just smiled back, unaware of how to respond to someone so obviously complimentary of her. No one had ever been like this before.

"Thanks, Charlie. You're way too nice to me. You should hang out with Korsak more often so he can make you a little more rough around the edges."

Charlie just laughed, knowing that this girl probably always tried to use humor to deflect the attention from herself.

"Nah, I'm good," Charlie said. "I'm not a cop for a reason. But, Jane," he paused, making sure he had her attention. When she looked up he added, "Don't think you don't deserve to be treated well or be surrounded by the best people, because you do."

Jane hated the blush she felt creeping into her cheeks as she barely managed to give him a "thank you". She was incredibly grateful that their waitress came back at that moment to noisily clear their plates.

_Wow. No guy has ever talked to me like that before. No one has ever been so sweet to me. Well, except for Maura, of course. But she's good to everyone and she's my best friend so it's natural she would treat me well. But she's not attracted to me._

That final thought made Jane hang her head a bit, wishing she could read that woman's enigmatic brain to know exactly where she stood on the platonic friend scale.

_Maybe I shouldn't worry about that anymore, though. If we were meant to be together like that then it would have happened a long time ago, right? Maybe Charlie's just the person I need to get my head out of the clouds and try for a relationship that could actually happen._

The rest of the date went just as smoothly and they ended up getting some dessert and engaging in a little more small talk and playful banter before parting for the night on friendly terms and with the agreement that they should get together again soon.

Jane couldn't help the giddy joy she felt when she walked into her house and saw that Maura was already there waiting for her. _But am I feeling giddy because of Charlie or Maura? God, this is confusing._

"Maura! I've been so excited to see you!" Jane called as she ran over and embraced her friend in a warm hug. "And look at you," Jane laughed as she pulled away, "You're already wearing my clothes!"

Maura chuckled, "Well, you know that I love how comfortable your Boston PD t-shirts are!"

"And you know I love them on you!" Jane countered with a laugh, glad that even if their friendship never turned into something more, they would always have their playful flirting between them.

"Now spill," Maura demanded as she pulled her friend to join her on their usual movie-watching loveseat. "And don't leave anything out," she added with a smirk.

"Okay okay, just don't look at me like that, Maur," Jane laughed. "You know it's distracting when those pretty eyes go all big and you start demanding things in that tone."

"Alright, Jane, you win," the blonde conceded. "I do know that your physiological responses to my presence coupled with certain expressions and tones of voice that I have mastered can sometimes render you incapable of rational thought."

_But if only they were enough! The last thing I want to do is hear about your date with some guy, but if it means hearing your voice and the adorable way you tell stories I would do anything. I'm just glad I've spent the last four years making sure she can't read these thoughts in my expressions so that our friendship could grow into the amazing thing we have now._

"Oh, whatever!" Jane replied, giving her friend a light punch in the shoulder. "Your little looks and big words do no such thing," she announced as they laughed together.

"So," Jane began with a smile as she nestled into the comfort of the leather and the closeness of her best friend, "I have a lot to tell you."

* * *

**Author's Note: Thanks for reading! I have big things in store for our girls that really get into motion in the next chapter - I've got at least 7 chapters outlined but their story may take a little longer to tell. Let me know what you think so far... And how do you feel about Charlie? ;)**


	4. New Resolve

Maura returned heavyhearted to her apartment late Saturday after having spent the night and most of the day with Jane. She trudged through the front door and found her two roommates sitting in the front room watching TV.

"Hey, Maur!" Anita happily called as she turned down the volume. "You're just in time! We're about to get ready for this party..." she stopped as she saw Maura's face.

"What's wrong, Maura?" Josie asked quietly. It was obvious that something was definitely wrong with their friend.

Anita turned the TV off completely and motioned for Maura to sit between them on the couch.

_I don't feel like talking to anyone right now,_ Maura thought._ But these girls are so good to me. I was lucky to find such wonderful people to live with. I didn't have a single friend in high school but somehow I managed to find these girl here._

"Hey, girls," Maura muttered as she let her overnight bag drop from her shoulder to the floor. "I've kind of had a rough twenty-four hours and I've had to hold it all in."

Josie and Anita exchanged worried looks as Maura settled on the couch between them.

"Well you know you can tell us anything," Josie said, giving Maura's leg a reassuring squeeze.

"Why couldn't you talk to Jane?" Anita ventured to ask, suddenly wishing she hadn't as Maura's lower lip began to quiver.

"It's about Jane, isn't it? Something happened?" Josie guessed.

The tears started to fall freely now as Maura nodded and then dropped her head in her hands.

Josie and Anita exchanged another worried look as they tried to comfort their friend. They knew this had to be big - Maura had _never _been this upset before about anything, especially not about Jane. Maura was always level headed and approached things that bothered her very logically. She never let herself get so carried away with emotion. These three girls had lived together for two years now and in that time Maura had confided in them what her true feelings were for Jane - that she was completely in love with her but so worried about losing her forever that she couldn't ever work up the courage to tell her in case she scared her away.

Josie and Anita had spent a lot of time with the two of them together and they loved Jane - she was outgoing and hilarious and so sweet with Maura. The girls had tried to convince Maura that Jane totally had a thing for her too and was probably just as scared to admit her feelings, but Maura would just laugh it off, explaining that it wasn't that simple between them.

They waited patiently as Maura worked up the will to unload her worries.

"J-Jane went on a date with some guy last night before we hung out and I can tell she really likes him. Just the way she talked about him... And it seemed like they had a perfect date."

The two girls were stunned but didn't want to interrupt quite yet.

"He sounded like such a gentleman and Jane showed me a picture of him on her phone and he's gorgeous."

Maura started sobbing now. "How could I have let this happen? I should have known this moment would come unannounced and I'd be left behind. I've loved her for years and then this guy just waltzes right in and sweeps her off her feet."

Josie, the blunter and more forward one of the two finally spoke up, "I think you should just tell her the truth, Maura. She's only been on one date with this guy so you've gotta nip this in the bud because there's no way in hell he can come even close to feeling about her the way you do."

"But then what?" Maura asked. "I completely repulse her with the idea of having a romantic relationship with me and then she turns the other way and runs off happily ever after with Charlie? Then she never talks to me again, doesn't even bother to send me a wedding invite? Jane and Charlie... Their names even sound good together. Hell, they would have amazingly attractive babies together..."

"Cut that out, Maura." Anita demanded, shocking both girls with her uncharacteristic forceful tone. "Don't even entertain that possibility in your head. Jo's right. You _have _to tell her how you feel. I can't even imagine that she doesn't feel the same way, but if you were to scare her with your confession, you know it wouldn't be forever. You'd figure out a way to be okay again because you two need each other. You already know what Jo and I think - that she totally loves you too."

"Well obviously she doesn't." Maura stated, becoming upset. "If she was in love with me then she would not have let herself fall for some man and then been eager to tell me every little detail about how wonderful he was."

Anita and Josie didn't know what to say as Maura rose from the couch.

"Look, girls, I'm sorry. I'm treating you terribly. I can't tell you how much I appreciate you hearing me out but you don't deserve to be with me right now. No one does. I'm afraid I can't go to the party," she added. "Not like this. I'm just gonna go to bed and try to sleep off these horrible feelings and figure out what to do with myself."

"Okay, Maur." Josie replied. "It'll be okay. You're gonna make this work."

"And you know you can come talk to us whenever," Anita continued.

"I know," Maura replied with a pained smile. "You two are too good to me. I'm sorry again, but thank you. I'll see you in the morning."

"Night, Maura," they said together and then rose silently off the couch to get ready for the party.

* * *

It was early evening when Jane approached her house after a tiring day at work and she pictured how nice it would be to have her own place for once. She was getting tired of having to work so hard to prove herself to the ignorant men she worked with and really didn't feel like going home to be around even more testosterone._ Just another year at home and I'll have enough saved up to get my apartment. I really need my own place already..._

Just as she dropped her things and fell on the couch the phone started ringing.

"Is anyone gonna get that?" she called out, clearly not wanting to be bothered to get up again so soon. She could hear her father and brothers in the other room watching baseball, so they weren't going to be any help.

"Janie would you mind getting the phone?" Angela Rizzoli called from the kitchen. "I've got my hands covered in raw meat."

Jane groaned as she answered the phone at the last ring. "Rizzoli residence."

"Jane, darling? This is Constance. How are you, dear?"

Jane subconsciously stood a little straighter, fearing the elegant Mrs. Isles could likely tell she was slumping just by the tone of her voice. "Oh, hi Constance. I'm good, thanks. What can I do for you?"

"I just wanted to see if you and your family would be free to come to a graduation party for Maura on Thursday at our house after the ceremony. We would love to have you there!"

"Yeah, that sounds great! We were already planning on going to the ceremony so we will definitely be at the party. Thanks for thinking of us!"

"Of course, Jane. You've been Maura's dearest friend and it would not mean as much without you there. We're also having Josie and Anita and their families over and if you want to bring anyone else, please feel free to."

"That sounds great, Constance. See you Thursday!"

Jane smiled to herself as she ended the call. Maura's parents had softened up a bit in the last few years since Maura had started college. They finally started to act like they did care about their daughter._ It's a shame it took Maura moving out for them to learn to show a little appreciation for her, but better late than never. Maura's the kind of amazing person that should never be taken for granted._

Jane thought for a moment about the last thing Constance had told her:_ If you want to bring anyone else, please feel free to..._

Jane stared at her cell phone, considering the pros and cons of what she was about to do._ Well why not? I need to figure out if this is going to work out. That party could be exactly what I need to finally grow a pair and take my happiness into my own hands..._

Jane pressed the call button on her phone and waited for the person on the other end to pick up.

"Hey, Charlie? Yeah, I'm doin' great! And hey, I've got a question for you... Are you busy Thursday night?"

* * *

Josie choked on her drink as she glanced toward the loud group of people that had entered the Isles' home.

Anita laughed. "What's wrong with you?"

"See for yourself."

Anita turned to follow Josie's line of sight and felt her jaw drop. "Oh, man. Where's Maura? I can't believe Jane brought_ him _here."

"Seriously. But I don't know, maybe she's thicker than we thought," Josie suggested. "You think maybe we were wrong? Maybe she doesn't have a thing for Maura after all?"

"Josie, c'mon. People who are just friends do not act the way they do around each other. Take us for example. Our hugs last maybe a few seconds? And that's when we're really giddy. Theirs last a few_ minutes._ We give high fives and they slap each other's_ asses._ We can't even share a room but when they have sleepovers they share a_ bed. _Need I say more?"

"Nope, sorry about that. I had a temporary lapse into stupid mode. They totally are into each other."

"Thank you," Anita replied.

Just then they she saw Maura come from the kitchen and start to head for the front room where the Rizzolis where luckily still held back while being introduced to Josie and Anita's families.

"And here comes a whole lot of awkward," Josie mumbled.

"Shut up, Jo!" Anita hissed. "What do we do?"

"What do we do?" Josie echoed. "What can we do? Maybe we should split up. You can go console a grieving Maura who thinks she's lost her one true love and I'll let Jane know what an idiot she is. Sound good?"

"You are _not _helping," Anita groaned.

"Well if you really want it the other way around, that's fine. I was kind of looking forward to giving Jane a piece of my mind but if you think you can-"

"Oh, shut up, Jo. C'mon," Anita sighed as she pulled her friend to help her intercept Maura.

"Hi, girls!" Maura said cheerfully as they stepped in front of her, blocking her view of the newly arrived company.

"How's the punch? Is it too strong?"

"What? Oh, no, Maur, the punch is great," Anita said. "But listen. Jane just got here and-"

"Oh, I know! I could hear her so I was just about to-"

"No, Maura, listen to us," Josie tried to get her attention. "Jane's here and she brought..."

Josie let her words go as she watched Maura's face fall.

"Oh," Maura said quietly. "I understand what you mean."

"So she didn't tell you she was bringing him?" Josie asked.

"No," Maura said with a forced laugh. "Why would she bother to tell me?" Maura put on her best mock impression of Jane's husky voice, "Oh, by the way, Maur, I'm bringing my new lover to celebrate your graduation with you. And did I mention that person isn't you? Oh, and did I mention that person is a_ man_? Thanks for the great _friend_ship we've had for the last four years. You've been such a great_ pal. _Oh and hey, wanna be my maid of honor?"

"Maura," Anita began, her eyes filled with sadness for her friend. "Stop talking like that. Now I don't know what Jane was thinking bringing him here, but I don't think her intention was to hurt you."

"She's right, Maur," Josie continued. "And I know saying this situation sucks is a gross understatement, but you've got to go out there and put on a brave face because we are here to celebrate you and we are not going to let them stop us, so don't you either."

Maura took their words to heart and replaced her somber expression with a look of determination. "You're both right. Damn it this is my party and I'm going to enjoy it. In fact," she added with a sly smile, "I'm going to turn on the charm that I know will push every one of her buttons. This Charlie guy might think he's pretty smooth, but I've been flirting with this woman for four years and I know exactly what makes her tick."

"Yes!" Josie happily exclaimed, clapping Maura on the back.

Anita turned Maura to face her unsuspecting prey and with a light push she whispered, "Go get 'em, tiger!"

Anita and Josie laughed together quietly as they watched their friend on the prowl.

"That was a close one," Anita admitted.

"No kidding," Josie replied. "Damn she's lucky to have us around. She totally owes us one."

"I think all the payment I want is seeing those two finally get together."

"Agreed," Josie laughed. "Man, this is going to be an entertaining night!"


	5. Truths Revealed

"Well, tonight was definitely awkward."

"God, I'm sorry, Charlie. I had no idea Maura was going to be like that."

Jane and Charlie sat side by side on the Rizzolis' front lawn watching cars drive by, neither of them quite sure how to say the words that needed to be said.

"Sure you did," Charlie said with a forced laugh as he glanced toward Jane. "I mean, that's why you brought me along, right? To make her jealous?"

"That was not why I wanted you to come!" the brunette protested. "I just thought that... I wanted to see if... Ah, hell. I don't know what I was thinking."

"Well I'm not an idiot, Jane. Without ever deigning to speak a word to me, Maura made it very clear that she loves you and at least to her I am the extra, unwanted third wheel. And with your apparent refusal to explain things to me it's obvious you feel the same way."

Jane dropped her head. "I don't know how I feel, Charlie."

Charlie just snorted, "That's bull, Jane, and you know it. I mean, you could have at least told me how it really was between you two so I could have been prepared for the wrath of Maura. I feel totally blindsided. I thought there was something between us, Janie." Charlie shook his head. "I can't believe I let myself start falling for you without seeing this coming. I should have known just by the way you talked about her that you cared for her a hell of a lot more than for me. I mean, I'm an actor, right? So you could have told me your intentions from the start and I would have totally gone along with it and posed as the boyfriend so you could make her jealous. So if you'll excuse me," he said, starting to rise to his feet, "I'm just going to leave before you can come up with another way to make me look like a fool."

"Charlie, wait," Jane said, pulling him back down. "I just needed to think through this. Let me be honest with you."

"Yeah, that'd be a nice change."

Jane winced at his words, mostly because she felt he had every right to say them. "I do love Maura, Charlie. I've loved her for a long time but neither of us has ever said it out loud. It's like we've been doing this stupid dance around our feelings for years and I guess it took something like this to finally put them out in the open."

"Yeah, well, just send me a 'Thank You' card then for all my help," he muttered sarcastically.

"Knock it off, Charlie. Let me finish, alright?"

He nodded and let the anger drop from his expression, letting her know he was listening.

"I've been feeling such a confusing mess of emotions lately and I haven't known how to sort them out. I really like you, Charlie, and I had never felt that way about anyone except Maura, I realized, and I didn't know how to handle it. I didn't let myself believe she could ever love me like that so I decided to try to open up to the idea of you being in my life. It would be a lie, though, for me to say I didn't hope Maura might react the way she did if I brought you to the party. I figured either way I would learn what I needed to know. Either she wouldn't care and sure I would have been crushed, but I would have had you to lean on, or you being there with me would make her jealous and I would be able to see how she really felt about me and her."

"And that's exactly what happened."

"Yeah, it is." Jane sighed, wishing she could make this all sound better for him than it was. "I really like you though, Charlie. You've been so good to me. I'm sorry I put you through this."

Jane had a look of such sincerity in her eyes that Charlie couldn't find it in himself to stay angry. He let out a sad laugh, "Man, I feel so used. But I believe you, Jane. I know you weren't planning this from the start." He sighed as he stood up, "I've got to go. I really loved spending time with you, Jane. You're a great girl and I still mean what I said to you that first night: You deserve to be happy."

"Thank you, Charlie," Jane replied, hating that this had to happen but knowing she was finally on the right path. "I'm so sorry this-"

She stopped as Charlie waved off her apology. "Hey, it's fine. You don't need to explain yourself anymore. See you around, Janie."

"Bye, Charlie," she whispered after him. She watched him get in his car and drive away before standing up and moving back toward her house.

Jane swallowed some Nyquil and dropped onto her bed. Tonight had given her the worst headache of her life and she needed some serious sleep before she could confront Maura tomorrow. They had hardly spoken during the party and Jane wasn't sure how she would react to her now. Maura didn't know she was going to break it off with Charlie and even though Jane definitely knew how her friend felt, she wasn't sure how hostile she was going to be after tonight or how long it would take for Jane to get back into her good graces.

* * *

Officer Rizzoli grew increasingly fidgety as she neared the end of what had felt like an interminable shift that day. She was off at six that evening and by 6:01 she was already in her car heading for her destination. _That woman turned on all her charm last night as a weapon, so the least I can do is return the favor..._ she thought with a smirk. She made a quick pit stop at a florist shop for good measure and was back on her way.

As Jane reached Maura's apartment door, flowers in hand, she felt the butterflies in her stomach take flight and she felt so light headed she momentarily leaned against the wall for support._ Fainting would make a fabulous entrance,_ she laughed at the thought and then straightened up as she silently turned the knob and opened the door, praying that Maura was home. She wanted to surprise her and hadn't called ahead so she hoped luck would be on her side tonight.

Jane slowly inched the door opened and peaked through the crack, hoping Maura wouldn't be right there. She smiled as she saw Anita on the couch, painting her nails as she watched TV. When Jane caught her attention she put a finger to her lips to let Anita know she didn't want her presence known quite yet.

Anita's first thought when seeing Jane was the memory of being in total disbelief at Jane's choice of companion at Maura's party the night before. But when she saw the lanky brunette with her nervous smile and a bouquet of flowers in her hand, Anita couldn't help smiling in return and nodded to show she understood the request for silence.

_Maura?_ Jane mouthed, still standing in the barely cracked open door.

Anita pointed to indicate the woman in question was in the kitchen across the way and once seeing that Maura's back was turned to the sink she waved Jane in.

Jane moved quickly and quietly as she eased the door open just enough to squeeze through, feeling very grateful that their door didn't squeak.

Jane stood in silence for just a moment as she watched the beautiful blonde in front of her cleaning the dishes and allowed herself a brief image of a possible future where the two of them would be taking care of domestic duties side by side in their own home. Jane hesitated for just a moment, remembering that she had no idea how her friend was going to react to her presence. But Jane was a natural risk taker and she had wasted enough time keeping her feelings in the dark. She carefully set the flowers down on the counter and silently approached Maura from behind, glad that the noise of the dishes masked the sound of her footsteps.

She slid her arms around the blonde's waist and placed a kiss on her neck. "Hey, beautiful," she whispered, hoping her words and actions would be welcome. She felt a shudder run through the woman's body who was pressed against hers.

"Oh, Jane!" she was clearly surprised as she turned around to face the brunette and felt an innumerable amount of thoughts and emotions run through her mind all at once. When she had last seen Jane at her party she was furious and simultaneously flirted shamelessly with her, and all of today she had been playing the events of the party in her head over and over trying to figure out if she had done the right thing or had made a fool of herself. Maura knew she would be justified in staying angry at her friend but at that moment she couldn't seem to remember why. Jane was holding her close and looking at her the way Maura had always dreamed she would.

"Oh, Jane," she repeated softly as she threw her arms around her neck and hugged her close. "I'm so sorry about last night. I wasn't myself at all and I was afraid I might have lost you after that display and we haven't spoken at all today about it."

"Hey," Jane said as she pulled back to look into the hazel eyes she loved so much. "You don't have anything to be sorry about. I'm the one with a lot of explaining to do. But first-" she smiled as she stepped away and grabbed the flowers she had placed on the counter. "Where's a vase? I figured a beautiful lady deserved some beautiful flowers today, so these are for you."

"Jane, these are gorgeous. Thank you so much." Maura looked at her friend with such a feeling of complete adoration that she nearly kissed her right there, but she became distracted when she noticed a less than discreet Anita staring at them with a huge grin on her face. Maura couldn't help returning the look as she found a suitable vase, but they need to get away from their audience.

"I want to put them in my room so I can see them every morning when I wake up," Maura announced to her friend. She took Jane's hand and led her to her bedroom. "Come help me decide where to put them."

"Gladly," Jane replied as she happily waved goodbye to Anita and let herself get pulled to Maura's room a little more forcefully than was necessary, she thought with a smirk.

Anita couldn't stop grinning even more when she heard Maura's door practically slam in their haste and she turned up the volume on the TV to give them a little more privacy and also because she honestly did not want to hear whatever was about to go down behind that door.

"Put down the flowers already, Maur! I swear you're gonna kill me right now. This is not the time for flower arranging!"

"I just want to find the place where they'll get the most light..." she faltered as she turned and saw a longing look in Jane's eyes that she had never seen before. "But honestly I'm scared out of my mind at how aroused I'm feeling right now."

"Oh, God, me too, Maur. And before anything else I just have to say I'm so sorry about Charlie and for bringing him to the party, but I broke it off with him and-"

"I don't care, Jane. Just shut up and kiss me."

That was all the invitation Jane needed as she closed the mere inches between them with a kiss that melted the tension of the night before and seemed to light every nerve in her body on fire.

Immediately upon contact their tongues met and Jane hardly had the strength to stand when she felt how smooth and skillful Maura's was. She pushed Maura one step back so she was against a wall and Jane could lean into her without fear of buckling to the ground.

Maura moaned Jane's name and loved the feeling of not needing to think at all as her body took over. She held tight onto the brunette's curls for leverage as she let herself sink deeper into the kiss, but when she felt herself literally go weak in the knees she had to speak.

"Oh, Jane that feels _so_ good." Jane's hands were everywhere and she never wanted to feel their separation again. "But I can't - can't stand up - any longer," the blonde barely managed to groan as she felt herself slipping down the wall. "Bed. Now. _Please._"

The sound of longing and desperate need in those three words were enough to give Jane strength she didn't know she still had and without their lips breaking contact, she placed her hands beneath an _amazingly toned gluteus maximus,_ she thought with a smile, and lifted Maura until the blonde wrapped her legs around her. They stayed glued together in that position for a few moments but as Jane felt her legs about to give way again she made a mental note to resume that stance as soon as was physically possible and walked to the bed.

The two women moaned with relief at not having to waste anymore energy trying to stay upright and Maura immediately rolled on top of Jane and pinned her arms to the bed.

"This is for pushing me up against that wall," she breathed with a smirk.

"Well in that case," Jane managed to say even though she'd rather not talk at all, "I'm going to have to do that a lot more often."

"I'm glad we understand one another, Officer," Maura smiled as she pulled her head up and gave a long appreciate look over her friend's body.

"Now don't take this the wrong way," Maura began as she felt her second wind coming. "You look incredible in your uniform, but I think you'll look so much better without it."

Jane swallowed as she processed her friend's meaning. "Yeah - back at ya, Maur." The kissing immediately resumed as four hands desperately worked to remove every piece of clothing that kept their searing skin from touching.

* * *

Several hours later the girls lay flat on their back, side by side as they fought to catch their breath.

"God, Maura," Jane moaned. "You are amazing."

"Wow. I've been wanting to do that for a long time, Jane. I couldn't even say how long," she whispered in response as she turned to face her new lover and entwined the fingers of one of their hands. "I love you so much."

"I love you too, Maura." Jane tucked a stray bit of blonde hair from face and secured it behind her ear. "I've loved you so much for so long." Jane's hand dropped to Maura's back as she let her fingers wander aimlessly along the immaculate surface.

Jane laughed as a memory came to her, "You know, I'm pretty sure I've been attracted to you since I first saw you watching me on that tour in the Witch Dungeon Museum."

Maura blushed. "You knew I was watching you? I thought I was being so discreet!"

Maura fought to keep her eyes open and her attention on Jane's words as those long, slender fingers worked their way up and down her back.

"C'mon, you're talking to a future detective here. Of course I noticed. And when I saw how much you were enjoying your personal reenactment I couldn't help going on and adding my own dramatic embellishments."

Maura laughed, "And I was so irritated with you the first time you actually spoke to me! I believe I recall you threatening to throw a rotten tomato at me?"

"Only an imaginary one, of course, dear," Jane answered playfully as she quickly ran her fingers along an area of Maura's lower back she had just decided was one of her favorite places. Maura gasped and arched back involuntarily at the touch and then a second later smacked the offending arm.

"Jane, that is _not_ fair! You cannot just do something like that whenever you want so you can see that reaction."

"Oh?" Jane teased. "And what about that makes it not fair? Getting that reaction is exactly why I would want to keep touching you in all the right places."

Maura glowered and then employed her favorite new way of shutting up the garrulous Jane Rizzoli by pressing their lips together and keeping her tongue well occupied.

And as the two amorous woman continued talking, laughing, and kissing through the night, they remained blissfully unaware of the presence outside that had been watching from afar through Maura's window long enough to know exactly what was going on between them.

* * *

Maura awoke the next morning and felt a smile spread across her face as she remembered the events of the night before. She turned to admire the woman next to her and as much as she wanted Jane to be able to rest peacefully, Maura acknowledged that it was impossible for her to keep her hands to herself any longer.

"Good morning, my beautiful Jane," she cooed as she kissed her lover into consciousness.

"Mmm. Maura," the brunette managed to say as she slowly smiled. Maura noted that this early morning, extra husky voiced Jane was incredibly sexy and she couldn't wait to witness it many more times.

"Maur I'm cold," Jane said as she looked around and noticed all that was left on the bed was a thin sheet that was barely covering them. "Come here," she demanded as she wrapped her arms around the blonde and threaded their legs together.

Maura loved feeling this woman so close to her. Jane made her feel so complete, so whole. Maura hesitated a moment before voicing the thought on her mind.

"Jane?" she quietly began.

"Yeah, babe?" Came the sleepy response.

"I just want you to know that I want this forever. I want us forever."

Jane squeezed her tighter. "Me too, beautiful. You're my everything, Maura. You know that?"

The blonde smiled and nodded. "I do know that because I feel the exact same way. There's no one I'd rather be with."

"Good." Jane gave her a light kiss on the forehead. "Now if only the sun would go away because I can't even open my eyes it's so bright. Geez, woman," she added with a laugh. "You've exhausted me!"

Maura laughed as she sat up and stretched. "Goodness, Jane. I believe I'm sore in places I didn't even know existed!"

Jane was barely able to mutter an "Uh huh" as she laid there ogling Maura's impressive physique in the light that filled the room.

Maura turned to see the source of Jane's unusual silence and felt the color rise to her cheeks as threw a pillow in her face. "You are shameless, Jane!" she laughed as she stood up and made her way to the window to close the blinds.

Jane's jaw dropped even more as she watched the elegant body of the woman she had made love to all night glide gracefully to the window.

"Geez, Maur, get away from there! It's broad daylight!"

Maura shook her head, "There's just no pleasing you, is there? You complain about the room being too bright, so when I try to fix that you complain about me getting close to the window!" Besides," she added as she let the blinds drop, "there's nobody out there right now. It's too early on a Saturday and the semester's just finished. No one probably cares about leaving their apartments yet."

The blonde gasped as she felt Jane come up unexpectedly from behind and wrap her arms around her waist like she had the night before. A chill ran all through her body and she turned to pull Jane into a close embrace to warm herself again.

"Oh, Jane you feel so good," she moaned. "And I was completely right last night when I hypothesized that you would look far better without your uniform."

"Well then thank the gods for scientific inquiry!" Jane chuckled. "And you, my Maura Isles, look much better in the nude as well."

They stood pressed together and kissed for several minutes before breaking apart and smiling.

"Now I hate to break the mood," Jane began, "but after that workout you have left me starving. Any chance of finding some food in this place?"

"I think we might be able to find something for that bottomless pit of yours," Maura remarked as she headed for the door.

"Whoa, geez, Maur! Put on some clothes first!" Jane hissed. "It might be early but that doesn't mean Josie and Anita couldn't be out there!"

"Good point," she replied thoughtfully. "Though you've made me quite comfortable in my own skin, I suppose for propriety's sake I better at least put on a robe."

"Yeah, I suppose you should," Jane snorted, still in disbelief that she had almost walked out in the buff.

"And just for the record, Maur," Jane added pointedly as they both donned soft cotton robes, "I am the only one allowed to see you sans clothing."

"Is that so, Officer?" Maura responded coyly. "Feeling a bit possessive now, are we?"

"I sure as hell am!" Jane said with a laugh. "You're mine, baby, and I'm never letting you go."

"Deal," the blonde replied sweetly as she gave Jane a kiss on the cheek and took her hand. "Now let's eat."

Maura laughed as she pointed out a note from her roommates on the fridge:

_Dear Lovebirds,_

_We woke up early and realized we had lots of errands to go run somewhere far away so we're afraid we had to leave you two completely alone until tonight. So sorry about that. Try not to miss us too much._

_Love,_

_Jo & Anita_

Jane just laughed, "Maur, have I ever mentioned you have the best roommates_ ever_?"

* * *

It was about two in the afternoon when Jane awoke with a start at the sound of her phone ringing on the kitchen counter. She carefully untangled herself from the woman beside her on the couch and moved quickly to reach it in time.

"Rizzoli," she answered, trying to sound alert like any self-respecting person would be at this time of day.

"Hey, Korsak. What's up?"

"Whoa, slow down. You're talking way too fast. Are you okay?"

Jane watched Maura groggily rise from the couch and approach her, concern etched in her delicate features as she heard the tone of her friend's voice.

"Wait, _what_?" Jane couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Are you sure? You've identified the body?"

"But how did this happen? When? And you have no idea who did it?"

"God, Korsak. I can't believe this."

"Oh, of course. Yeah, I understand that I need to be there. Tell them I'll be there in thirty minutes."

As Jane hung up she was stunned from what she had just heard. She slowly sat down and held her head in her hands.

"Jane?" Maura spoke quietly, afraid that she might not want to know the other side of that conversation.

Jane lifted her head. "I... I have to go down to the precinct. For an interrogation."

"But why are they calling you in on your day off? Does Korsak want you to get some extra experience?"

"No, Maur," Jane said, shaking her head. "I'm not helping with the interrogation. I'm the one being interrogated."

"What?" the blonde asked, incredulous. "What in the world happened, Jane? From what I could hear Korsak sounded very emotional."

"Korsak was emotional because he just had to positively identify the body of his nephew. Charlie's dead, Maura. He was tortured and murdered last night and they have no idea why."


	6. Joy and Sorrow

"So, Officer Rizzoli, we understand from Detective Korsak that you were dating Charlie?"

Jane felt like she had to be in some alternate universe to actually be a suspect in a homicide case. "Yeah, we dated. Well, we just went out twice - last week Friday and then this past Thursday."

Detective Moore continued, "We spoke with his roommates this morning and they said Charlie hadn't been staying at their place for the past week and they weren't aware of where he was. Do you have any idea? Was your new boyfriend staying with you by chance?"

Jane laughed at the idea. "No way. Ask my family and they'll tell you. I've never even brought a guy over to my house for dinner let alone to stay for the night. I didn't know he wasn't staying at his apartment, so I assume he was at his house in Brookline."

Detective Moore scribbled on his notepad for a moment before replying, "We checked out the residence this morning and it showed no sign of anyone setting foot in there for at least several months. There was a layer of dust on everything and the fridge wasn't even plugged in. Detective Korsak said he wasn't aware of his nephew using the place since before the semester started - maybe January - which would make sense considering the state of the house."

Jane let this new information sink in before speaking again. "So where else would he have gone?" The young officer forgot for a moment that she was the one being interrogated. "I was with him just two days ago and he was fine."_ Except for the fact that I dumped him,_ she remembered sadly. She didn't regret breaking things off with Charlie, but she wouldn't have wanted that exchange to be the last one they had._ It was possibly even the last conversation he had before being abducted._

Jane continued, "I don't know where he would have been staying during that time but he definitely hadn't been physically tortured when I was last with him. None of this makes any sense..."

Moore nodded. "And that's why we're questioning everyone who might be able to give us more insight. Can you think of anything else you know about him that could be important? Was there maybe another woman in the picture? Somebody else he could have been staying with?"

Jane realized she really hadn't known Charlie much at all. "There wasn't another woman that I know of but I honestly have no idea. We just went out twice, so it wasn't like we were exclusive or anything. Korsak was under the impression that he didn't get out much but it doesn't mean he wasn't seeing other people."

Moore continued writing and then looked back up to Jane. "Well, we have no need to keep you in here any longer for now, Officer Rizzoli. Your alibi stating that you were with your friend, Miss Isles, checks out with the statements from her and her roommates. The other two girls couldn't positively confirm you were there the entire night, but Miss Isles gave me a rather convincing testimony," Moore fought unsuccessfully to keep the smirk from his face and Jane rolled her eyes in disbelief as she imagined what she would say to the woman who could not lie the next time they talked:

_God, Maura! Was it really necessary to tell someone in BPD - which happens to be the place where I have to show my face every day - that we are now sleeping together? I am going to be teased about this alibi until I'm dead._

Detective Moore just laughed. "Don't worry Rizzoli - my lips are sealed. But before you go off on your friend for outing you, you should consider the fact that she quite possibly saved your sorry ass. You know that Charlie's body was found on BCU's campus which puts you right at the scene? She saved your neck so you ought to thank her."

Jane hadn't realized that was where Charlie was found. _Why would he have been on campus if he hadn't been at his apartment for over a week? Was he killed somewhere else and then dropped off there? But why? Was someone actually trying to frame me? How would they have known I was there that night?_

A natural detective, Jane hated unanswered questions and she forced herself to end that train of thought before they drove her crazy.

"Okay, you're free to go for now, Officer Rizzoli. Thank you for your cooperation. But you know that you need to stay close by so we can bring you in again if need be."

Jane nodded. "Yeah, of course. I understand."

* * *

Jane quickly went home to shower and change into comfortable clothes and was back on the road as fast as was physically possible to return to Maura. Her only slight detour was to the florist's shop once again and a dozen red roses later she was back in her car.

"Jane!" Maura squealed with delight when she saw the brunette walk through the door. "Don't you bother calling anymore?" she teased as wrapped her arms around her neck and gave her a long, welcoming kiss.

"I'll never call again if it means getting that kind of reaction when I come through the door," Jane smiled at the wonderful woman in front of her.

"I promise my reaction would be the same whether I was surprised or not. And you brought me more flowers! Oh, Jane. You're too good to me. I really couldn't wait for you to come back and I hoped you would tonight."

"You kidding me?" Jane laughed as she gave the flowers to their new owner who gave them an appreciative long smell. "It took every ounce of my willpower to stay at the precinct as long as they needed me and it was even harder to go home after that. But I figured my new girlfriend might appreciate it if I showered and changed my clothes."

Maura smiled at her new title, then tilted her head thoughtfully as she tested out the sound of it for herself. "Girlfriend. It's funny that it's such a new term for us, but I feel like that's what you've been to me forever."

"I know," Jane agreed. "I was thinking that too. And at the same time it doesn't quite seem to be enough, does it? Maybe that doesn't make any sense..."

"No, I completely agree," the blonde reassured her. "Girlfriend seems like such a transitory term and I can honestly picture myself being with you forever. That might sound funny to some people; they'd likely say we're in our 'honeymoon phase', but we've already had so many arguments and misunderstandings along with times of absolute perfection in our relationship over the past few years that I can say for a fact that I know what I want, and I want you, Jane Rizzoli."

"Wow, Maura. It's really not fair that you're so good with words. But I feel the exact same."

"Well, if I am good with words, it's only because you inspire me, my dear."

Jane felt like an idiot with how much she had been grinning lately, but she really couldn't help it. She took the flowers from the blonde's hands, placed them carefully on the counter, then returned to look at her beautiful friend. They stood there smiling at each other, not feeling the need to fill the silence with anymore words. Jane gently cradled Maura's face in her hands and leaned down to kiss her. The kiss quickly deepened and Jane somehow had the presence of mind to remember the position she had briefly enjoyed last night. Jane placed her hands beneath the blonde and felt her smile through the kiss as she gracefully leapt up and wrapped her legs around Jane, not worrying for a moment that Jane might drop her.

_Jane will always be here to hold me,_ Maura thought happily as she kissed the brunette with greater passion._ She will never let me fall._

Jane loved holding her like this but she realized, _The one downside to this position is I can't put my hands all over this woman's gorgeous body. I guess I'll have to make to with what I have, though..._

"Jane!" Maura laughed as she felt her buttocks being squeezed.

"Yes, dear?" Jane smirked as she began kissing her again.

"Mmmm," Maura moaned. "I don't seem to remember."

Hearing that moan come from Maura aroused Jane even more and she wasted no time in getting them into Maura's room, feeling very grateful that Josie and Anita were still gone running their "errands".

"Why, Officer," Maura teased, "you seem to have something on your mind."

"Mmm I definitely do," Jane managed to reply between breaths. "And that would be you without any clothes on."

Maura laughed as she was lowered onto her bed and the two women wasted no time in getting reacquainted with each others' bodies.

* * *

Anita slowly opened the door to the apartment. She saw a new bouquet of roses sitting on the counter and whispered to her companion, "I think Jane's still here."

Josie laughed and whispered back, "She must be for perfectionist Maura to forget to put a bouquet of roses in water. Well, we better make our presence known before we have some embarrassing encounter."

"Are you sure?" Anita never liked feeling like she was imposing on people.

Josie just snorted in response as she walked into the front room. "Hell, yes. We've been gone all day to run errands that didn't need to happen and now my bank account's crying." She gestured to the bags full of the day's unnecessary, yet very enjoyable purchases. "They've enjoyed twenty-four hours without us. It's time for them to socialize again."

Anita rolled her eyes at her friend's bluntness, but was secretly just as ready to reclaim their apartment.

"Pizza's here!" Josie yelled at the top of her lungs, making sure she would be heard over whatever was going on in the back bedroom. "Be out here in three minutes or we'll bring it in to you!"

They both waited a moment to hear if they would be graced with any response.

"You two are the _best_!" came Jane's strong voice, which the girls couldn't help noticing sounded a bit huskier than usual.

Maura let out a slow sigh. "I guess we better get dressed and go out there before they come in, huh?"

"Definitely," Jane laughed.

The girls had been asleep, wrapped up in each other when Maura's roommates arrived.

"But Josie said three minutes, right?" Jane asked. "So I can still hold you for one more?"

Maura smiled as she pulled the brunette in tighter to her body, leaving little space between them. "Closer to two," she replied factually.

* * *

Jane was reluctant to go the next day but was grateful she had brought along her uniform so she could go straight to work.

She was locked in a tight embrace with Maura, who was just a resistant to let her go.

"I don't think leaving you will ever get any easier," Jane muttered.

"I know," the blonde responded as she reached up to give Jane a soft kiss. "But you better go, Officer Rizzoli. Go get those lawbreakers," she smiled, "and come back to me as soon as you can. Josie and Anita are both going to their families' homes for Sunday dinner today so I'll be on my own and missing your company."

Jane kissed her back. "I'll be back as soon as I can. Love you, babe."

"I love you too, Jane!" Maura called as the door closed in front of her.

She gasped when she saw her roses were still abandoned on the counter and quickly set to work to resolve the issue.

* * *

Jane had to put in ten hours that day and was exhausted as she stopped by the cafe for some coffee on her way out. She saw Korsak sitting at one of the tables and walked over to him.

"Hey, Korsak. How you holding up?"

The detective looked like he had aged a decade in the last two days. "Hey, Rizzoli. I'm doin' okay. Just trying to make sense out of all this, you know? The Lieutenant tried to talk me off the case since I'm related to the victim but I wouldn't hear it. I need to know I'm doing everything I can to bring my little sister's boy some justice."

"I'd do the exact same thing, Korsak. Let me know if I can help in any way."

"Will do, Rizzoli. Thanks. And I'm sorry too. I'm sorry I got you wrapped up in this mess just for this to happen."

Jane waved off his apology. "Don't say that. I'm really glad I got to know Charlie."

Korsak nodded. As Jane turned to leave he added, "Oh, and Jane? I forgot to tell you earlier - Charlie's funeral is gonna be at eleven in the morning on Tuesday if you wanna go."

Jane responded with a kind smile, "Yeah, of course I'll be there."

"Thanks, Jane. I know he'd like that. I'll send you the directions to the church later."

"Sounds good, Korsak. Take it easy."

* * *

Jane smiled as she finally stepped out into the fresh air and thought she'd give Maura a call to announce her arrival for once. Just as she was about to press the call button, though, she laughed and decided against it, looking forward instead to the blonde's surprised reaction.

"It's Officer Rizzoli, right?"

"That's right, Mr. Clarke! But off the clock it's just Jane."

"Well then, Jane, you can call me Tom."

"You got it, Tom." Jane smiled now that she was on a first-name basis with the kind, elderly florist.

"So can I look forward to having the pleasure of your regular business, Miss Jane?"

She chuckled. "I may not keep coming back everyday, Tom, but I should definitely be a regular."

"I'm glad," the wrinkled man smiled. "Then in that case, today I want you to take your pick of anything in the shop and it's yours, free of charge."

Jane was touched by the man's kindness. "Thank you, Tom."

She carefully selected an arrangement of beautiful tulips - Maura's favorite - and waved to Tom on her way out while he was helping another customer.

* * *

"Jane!" Josie and Anita called as she came through the door.

"And... not Maura?" Anita was clearly confused.

"Isn't she home?" Jane asked, now kicking herself for not calling ahead.

"Not unless she's been asleep in her room for the last two hours since I've been home, which would be odd because she never goes to sleep that early, but I guess you probably have been wearing her out pretty good," Josie snickered.

Jane didn't like how this was sounding and quickly moved toward Maura's room, Josie and Anita trailing close behind.

"Oh my God," Anita voiced the thought that was on all their minds as they stepped through the door.

The fresh tulips in her hand dropped to the ground as Jane moved breathlessly toward the bed and picked up the note that lay there with an elegant handwriting that was not Maura's. She couldn't process what was happening.

Josie read the note aloud:

_Dear Janie,_

_Come and find us. Don't bring any company if you want to see your pretty lover alive._

_P.S. - Don't make us wait too long._

"What the hell?" Josie yelled. "That note was written with blood. What the hell is this about, Jane? Is that Maura's blood? Who did this?"

Jane was choking back tears. She didn't want to listen to anymore questions she couldn't answer. She ran her hands through her hair in frustration, the tears flowing freely now. "I have no idea."


	7. A Hunch

_How would Maura's abductor know we were lovers? Unless he was looking into the room through the window... But it's two stories high!_

Jane walked to Maura's window, trying to see where a possible vantage point could be.

_I remember the blinds were up that first night because Maura practically flashed the world when she went to close them - I guess anyone looking at the right time from one of those buildings across the way could have seen us. God, that's creepy. But what does that have to do with him taking her? Maybe everything, _Jane thought solemnly._ This guy addressed that note to me so I'm obviously the target. Maybe the only reason Maura was taken is because she was with the wrong company... But who would want to do this to me?_

Jane tried to push through her muddle of emotions and approach the situation logically.

_He either saw us together or this guy has someone feeding him information. So who besides us knew? Josie and Anita, who say they haven't told anyone, and Detective Moore, who also said his lips were sealed. Why can't I figure this out?_

"Officer Rizzoli?"

Jane turned to give her attention to Detective Moore, who had made himself the lead in the investigation of Maura's abduction.

"You're sure you can't think of where he would have taken her? The note seems to indicate you would be able to find them."

"I know," she responded. "That's just the problem - I have no idea who this guy is, why he took or, or where they could be."

"I hope you understand what a serious mistake it could be if you do try to confront her kidnapper alone even though he told you to in the note. He appears to be capable of murder and just because he implies that Maura will be alive if you come alone doesn't mean it's true, nor does it mean that he wouldn't just take you both out when you got there."

"Yeah, I get it, okay?" Jane instantly regretted her sharp response at the kind man, but she didn't like hearing all the possible ways this could turn out badly. She had already imagined every worst case scenario for herself.

"We just want to make sure we take every precaution necessary to not endanger you as well, Jane."

"I know. I'm sorry, Moore. I'm just incredibly frustrated and people keep asking all these questions and I can't answer any of them.

"I can understand that. You do know why I wanted to lead this case, don't you?"

"No," Jane admitted gruffly. "I sure hope you're not expecting this to become a homicide, though, Detective," she said, a hint of accusation in her tone.

"Not at all," he said honestly. "I'm leading this case because I know from personal experience what it's like to lose a loved one. I know what it's like to come home and realize the woman you love has been ripped from your life and won't come home again."

Jane glanced down and noticed a wedding band on Moore's left hand and understood his meaning. "Your wife?" she asked, now feeling guilty for losing her patience with the detective.

"Yeah. She died unexpectedly two years ago."

Jane didn't press for more details They both stood in silence for a moment, considering the words that had been said.

"So that's why I'm leading this. I like you, Rizzoli. You've got some real talent and I think you've got what it takes to make detective one day. But besides that, I can understand in my own way what you're going through right now, and I swear to you I will do absolutely everything I can to help you find Maura and bring her home safely so that you don't have to endure an ordeal similar to mine."

Jane couldn't help the emotion she felt washing over her. "Thanks, Moore. I can't tell you how sorry I am for your loss or how grateful I am that you're taking charge on this."

Detective Moore walked out of Maura's room with Jane and toward the front door of the apartment, taking with him the last of his team who had been questioning Josie and Anita.

"Let's go, guys," he announced. "We've got everything we need from here for now. Let's try to leave these girls in peace.

When they finally left, Jane let herself drop onto the couch. It was Monday now, she noticed, and almost one in the morning. She had felt stunned, paralyzed, and hardly able to move, speak, or feel since she had discovered Maura's absence just a few hours ago.

Josie and Anita moved to join her, each sitting on either side of the tall brunette.

"I'm so sorry, Jane," Anita's voice broke as the tears that had started hours ago continued to fall. She knew Jane wasn't much of a hugger - except when she was with Maura - but she sensed that she needed to be comforted so she wrapped her arms around her.

Jane was surprised at how much she realized she was craving some kind of physical contact and gratefully returned the hug.

"She's gonna be okay, Jane," Josie said softly. "Maura may never be seen without manicured hands and high heels, but you know she's a fighter. She's not gonna let up until you find her."

Jane couldn't help the small laugh that the truth of Josie's words evoked.

"You're right," Jane agreed with a smile as she wiped her eyes. "She is a fighter and I am too. I am going to figure this out and find her and bring her home."

"That's the spirit!" Josie said as she felt tears coming to her own eyes.

Jane was surprised to see the normally stoic Josie showing this emotion, _but she's probably thinking the same about me._

Josie read Jane's expression and laughed, "Yeah, I'm not as heartless as you might think, Jane. We may not love Maura like you do, but we definitely love her."

"I know you girls do," Jane said appreciatively as she pulled Josie into her embrace as well. "Thank you for being her friends. I can't tell you how happy she's been to live with you or how grateful I've been for the last couple years knowing she had you when I couldn't be around."

"No problem, Jane." Anita said with a weak smile. "And we're looking forward to living with her as soon as you get her back."

Jane laughed, "I don't know if I'll ever be able to let her go again when I get her back."

Josie nodded, understanding her point. "Well then we'll have to come visit you when you have your own place."

Silence fell between them for the next few minutes, each girl consumed with her own thoughts. To their credit though, each one of them would only allow themselves to think about "when" Maura would be home - not "if".

"Hey, do you girls mind if I sleep here for the night?"

"Not at all," Josie said as Anita nodded in agreement.

"But I don't think I want to sleep in Maura's bed. Not without her here. Not after what's happened. Is it okay if I just crash here on the couch until the morning?"

"Of course," Anita said kindly as she and Josie took that as their cue and rose up off the couch. I'll grab you an extra pillow and some blankets," she added as they left.

"Thank you," Jane responded. She wondered if she would actually get some sleep tonight, or if she would just be haunted by the faceless evil that was threatening to tear away the one person she loved the most from her life.

* * *

Jane got up later that morning after a restless night. She folded up the blankets she had used and left a note to thank the girls.

As she drove away she decided to stop by the Isles' home, before returning to her own. She knew one of the officers had called them last night with the news of Maura's disappearance, but she wanted to be there to comfort them if they needed it.

As Jane pulled into the luxuriously long circular driveway she was shocked to see her family's car there as well. Jane's knock at the door was quickly answered by Constance who immediately pulled her into her arms.

"Oh, Jane," she whispered. "Is there anymore news? Have they found her?"

Jane could see the sadness in the older woman's eyes and knew what she was asking: _Is she alive or not?_

"I'm afraid I don't know anything more than you do," Jane replied with a sigh.

"Well, come on in and see who's here," Constance said as she closed the front door.

"Ma? Pop? What are you all doing here?"

Sure enough, the entire Rizzoli clan was now within the Isles' household.

"What are we doing here?" Angela echoed incredulously. "Honestly, Janie, you think you're the only Rizzoli who cares about Maura? We're here doing the exact same as you - comforting our friends during this hard time.

"Sorry, Ma. I didn't mean it like that. I know you love Maura too."

"We sure do," Frank Rizzoli added as he accepted a drink from Mr. Isles.

"Yeah, Janie," Tommy added. "She's like another sister to us." Jane laughed to herself as she listened to her eighteen-year-old, girl-crazy brother. _More like you wish you could date her, little brother._

Jane sat down to join them all in the sitting room, grateful that the two families had become such good, albeit unlikely, friends over the last few years._ I guess that's what Maura and I are too. We are such complete opposites, but just enough so that we complement each other perfectly._

After a couple hours, Frankie stood up to leave. "Well, I gotta go now," he announced. "They gave me the morning off but I need to head back to the Academy."

Jane was proud of Frankie, even though she rarely told him that. He was following in her footsteps, just as determined to be a homicide detective one day, and he was now attending the Police Academy in preparation to become an officer.

"I'll think I'll head out now too," Jane said.

"Why, Janie? I thought you were taking the day off after all this. Didn't they let you?" came Angela Rizzoli's worried response.

"I know, Ma, but I do need to get some work done. And I know that if I just sit around thinking about Maura I'm gonna go crazy. I need to see if there's anything I can do to help."

"Alright, Janie, but you be careful now! You too, Frankie!"

'I will, Ma," they both mumbled at once as they left the house.

"So I take it Ma doesn't know about the note?" Frankie asked knowingly.

"You kidding? And have her worried that I'm going to take off after some psycho by myself? I only told you about that."

Frankie nodded in understanding. "I don't blame you. Just be careful, alright Janie?" he said as he got into his car. "I know you don't want to hear that, especially from your kid brother, but we're all torn up over Maura and I can't imagine what it would be like to lose you too."

"I hear ya, Frankie. Thanks. I will be careful."

He gave a quick wave as he closed his door and drove away.

_Time to rack my brain and figure this out,_ Jane thought on her way to BPD._ This guy seems to think I've got the clues to find them, so that's exactly what I'm going to do._

Jane spent the rest of the day at the precinct, but nothing seemed to come from her straining efforts to find Maura. She checked in with Moore and his team constantly but they weren't coming up with any answers either.

_She's already been gone for about twenty-four hours and we don't know anything more than we did yesterday! The only piece of good news I've heard was the results from the analyst lab saying that the red ink used on that note wasn't blood, thank heavens. That creep probably just wanted to scare the hell out of me even more._

Jane had been sitting in the cafe for the last few hours to stay fueled on caffeine and to claim a table onto which she laid out a myriad of papers. Most of them were old abduction cases that seemed to have circumstances similar to Maura's so she could study the events and understand how cops usually proceeded in this kind of situation. Jane had also made a timeline of the night Maura was taken that delineated everything she, Anita, and Josie thought might be even slightly important.

It was only when the clock on the wall showed that it was past midnight that she finally bundled up the papers sprawled in front of her and returned home heavyhearted.

* * *

Jane got out of bed on Tuesday morning feeling exhausted. She had spent yet another night tossing and turning, mulling over the little facts she knew in an attempt to figure out where Maura could be.

She finally got dressed in the nicest pants and shirt she could find to get ready for Charlie's funeral._ First Charlie, then Maura. Two major shocks within two days._

The funeral ceremony started at eleven, but Korsak had let Jane know yesterday that the viewing would start at ten.

_The only thing worse than the actual funeral for someone you know is the viewing, _she thought grimly._ I know it's the last time you get to see the deceased, but it's so hard to look into that lifeless face when you knew the spark it used to have._

Jane had tagged along with Korsak before on a few homicide cases and even though she felt deeply how tragic it was, she wasn't bothered by the bodies. She hadn't known those people alive so when they were gone she recognized that their bodies were there to silently tell the victims' stories and help catch the criminals who did it.

Jane arrived at the church at a quarter to eleven, knowing that she didn't want to have too much time to stand around in the room with Charlie's open casket_. I haven't been to a funeral since Pop's brother Lorenzo died in that terrible car accident five years ago, and it's not the kind of experience a person looks forward to repeating..._

As Jane arrived at the church and stepped out of her car she reminded herself that she was here to pay her respects to Charlie and to help support Korsak. Since Maura had been gone she found it hard to think about anything else. It was all she could do to maintain her sanity and her dignity by not breaking down in tears every time she was reminded of the woman she loved.

Everyone knew Jane as the tough as nails cop - the kind of person that would rather jump off a cliff than let you see her cry. She never wanted to be perceived as being less effective than the men in her field, so she worked hard to overcompensate for the fact that she was a woman by maintaining a stony persona and a reputation to match.

"Hey, Jane," she turned to the direction of the voice and saw Korsak coming toward her. "Thanks for coming. It really means a lot to me."

"Of course, Korsak. I told you I would." Jane hesitated there at the back of the room when she saw the open casket on the opposite side. "It's beautiful in here, Korsak," she said as she noticed the variety of flowers arranged around the room. "And there are so many people." She was a bit taken aback on that point. She had just assumed that since Korsak was Charlie's only family there wouldn't be such an impressive gathering.

"Yeah," Korsak responded with a sad smile. "He spent most of his life not too far from here so he's got a lot of people nearby who love him and want to pay their respects."

_Of course he would have a lot of people here. Charlie's the kind of guy everyone liked and could get along with. So who did he ultimately piss off enough to make him here today?_ Jane tried to ignore that thought because it only made her more upset.

She knew there were probably only a few minutes left before people would be ushered out of this room and into the larger one where the ceremony was being held, at which point the casket would be closed, so Jane finally began walking across the room to wait her turn with Korsak by her side.

As she approached there was already a group of what must have been some college friends looking down at Charlie. Jane was grateful to notice from the short distance that most of the body seemed to be covered except his face, which meant she wouldn't be able to notice the signs that he had been tortured. Korsak told her that he had massive bruising all of his body, and each of his fingers and one of his legs had been broken.

_What a horrifying way to spend the end of your life. What was your captor trying to get out of you? Was it just a sick game or did you know something? Something he wanted desperately enough to do this to you..._

Jane hadn't been sure how she would feel to see Charlie's lifeless form, but she definitely wasn't prepared for what was about to happen. After the group in front of her walked away from the casket, she stepped close enough to look down at him.

Jane let out an audible gasped and reflexively jumped back from the body. "Oh my God," she said quietly.

"What is it, Jane? Is it the body?"

Jane looked to Korsak's face, just to be sure they were seeing the same thing and he clearly wasn't feeling her shock.

"Korsak," she finally managed to whisper, "that's not the Charlie I knew."

"What the hell are you saying, Rizzoli?" the detective hissed under his breath.

"I'm saying that I've never seen him before." Jane was starting to understand the implications of what she had just realized. "Korsak, I think your nephew was missing for about a week longer than we thought, because it was definitely another man with me who was posing as him."

The people in the room hadn't heard this quiet exchange between them but they had noticed something odd going on, so Korsak quickly grabbed Jane's arm and pulled her outside.

"Tell me this again. What do you mean he's not the Charlie you knew? How the hell is that possible, Rizzoli?" His tone was a mix of pain and anger as he was trying to process what the young officer was saying.

"I don't know how else to tell you this, Korsak! It doesn't make any sense to me either! That guy in there is obviously your nephew, but this is the first time I've seen him. I think whoever his imposter was is the one who kidnapped, tortured, and murdered the real Charlie, or is at least working with him. I know this is insane but it's starting to make me think this might be connected to Maura, too."

Korsak started pacing as he attempted to understand what he was hearing. "I never actually did speak to Charlie after that night we had dinner. When you agreed to go out with him I texted him your number and we only texted a few times after that. But apparently that was never him at all..."

"I know this is crazy, Korsak. I can't even believe this just happened. But we've got to figure out who this creep is. We've got to tell the other guys on your team and put together as many heads as we can. I've been running myself into the ground trying to put together the puzzle I didn't think I had all the pieces to, and I honestly haven't even had a clue before now about where Maura is, but I'm telling you, I've definitely got a hunch about this one. I really think this guy has Maura, or knows where to find her."

"You're right, Rizzoli. Tell you what - I'm gonna go back in there and try not to be fuming mad over this so that I can appreciate my nephew's funeral, but you don't have any connection to him so there's no reason for you to be here. You get down to the precinct and tell them everything you know and I'll be there as soon as I make sure things are okay here and that Charlie's taken care of."

"You got it, Korsak," Jane answered as she left with a bit of hope rising in her. She realized that even with this new information, she honestly had no idea of where to go from here. Possibly knowing Maura's kidnapper still didn't tell her where she was. But as Jane sped off toward BPD, she pushed her doubts away and began to study her memories of the Charlie she knew to try to uncover anything she hadn't realized before.

* * *

**Author's Note: What do you think so far? Any predictions? I'm going to try to keep up with updating every 1-2 days so keep reading! :)**


	8. Two Fighters

As she finished her shift, Officer Jane Rizzoli's mind was still reeling from the shocking discovery she had made at Charlie's funeral earlier that day, so she was relieved to be met with some good news when she walked into the homicide unit late Tuesday evening.

"Hey, Rizzoli," Korsak greeted her from his desk. "Guess what? We've got the identity of Charlie's imposter."

"Thank God. I was beginning to think this guy was a ghost."

"Nope, he's definitely real, unfortunately," came Moore's reply as he entered the room with a fresh cup of coffee.

Korsak continued, "We used the pictures you gave us from Maura's party and ran them through facial recognition which gave us a pretty solid match, but we sealed the deal when we were able to lift his prints off the card."

Jane had racked her brain earlier that day to think of anything she could find that would have the perp's prints and finally she remembered the card she had given Maura at her graduation party. She and Charlie had both signed it so she was crossing her fingers that any prints he might have left would be enough to nail him.

"There were three sets of prints on the card and we compared them to everyone who was at the party. They were from you, Maura, and the last set didn't match anyone else's so we figured they were his. We ran the prints through IAFIS and got a hit with his driver's license that matched the facial recognition. Our guy's name is Mark Sutton and according to the system, his record's clean as a whistle."

Jane snorted. "His record might be clean but he sure isn't. Damn! What else has he gotten away with? Abduction, identity theft, torture, and murder aren't exactly first offense material."

Moore nodded. "Which makes this guy even more dangerous because he's smart and takes care of his business without leaving a trace."

"But that's just what doesn't make sense about all this," Jane pointed out. "He's gotta be smart, so why did he show his face? Why put on this whole charade and why did he leave his prints on the card?"

"He may have slipped up with the card, Jane," Korsak suggested. "I doubt he tried to wipe down every single surface he touched when he was around you. But as for the charade I don't have a clue why he made the effort. If he wanted Charlie dead, why not just do it? He held onto him for a week and he may have been trying to fill in for him so his presence wouldn't be missed for as long as possible to leave the perp enough time to get what he wanted out of him."

"I have another theory," Moore said thoughtfully. "What if this isn't really about Charlie at all? He may have just been in the wrong place at the wrong time and was about to have close access to the real target."

Jane felt an uncomfortable knot form in her stomach. "You're saying me? You think he just used Charlie to get to me?"

Moore shrugged. "You have to admit it's a plausible idea. And if he's responsible for Maura's abduction, which I agree with you in thinking this is all too much of a coincidence for him not to have a part in it, then doesn't it seem possible? Even probable?"

Jane couldn't deny that Moore's thinking made sense. "But why? I had never seen this guy before last week."

"Maybe not that you know of, Rizzoli," Korsak said. "I've interrogated a lot of stalkers and usually the creepiest are the ones who don't seem the type. They can blend into any environment and fool just about anyone."

That reminded Jane of a memory. "Korsak, was Charlie an actor?"

Korsak laughed. "You kidding? Charlie was way too shy to ever get on a stage. He never would have been an actor."

"Of course not," Jane said, wishing she had known this a week ago. "But Mark sure was. He even told me that himself. Do we have a BOLO out on him yet?"

"Yeah," Korsak confirmed. "I called it in as soon as his info came through, so every cop around knows we want him."

Jane looked back up at the computer screen in front of her. There was the person she had spent more than a week thinking was Charlie, but she now knew was Mark Sutton. The picture on his license showed a much younger man but that was definitely him. The same curly, dark blonde hair, attractive face, and charismatic smile that could win over anyone.

_Have your good looks lured away other women before, Mark? Is Maura the first one you've abducted? Is Charlie the first you've murdered? Why are you doing this?_

Jane glanced at a clock and saw that it was getting late. "Well, guys, I think I've had enough madness for one day. I'm gonna head out."

_How could Charlie's funeral have just been this morning? That felt like a lifetime ago..._

Jane continued, "We've got the identity of Charlie's imposter and likely Maura's abductor so I might actually be able to sleep tonight."

"Sounds good, Rizzoli. See you tomorrow," Moore replied.

"I hope you do get some sleep, Rizzoli. You look terrible," Korsak observed.

Jane laughed, "Back at ya, Korsak. You try to get some sleep soon too, alright?"

The older detective just waved her off. "Yeah, yeah. I'm almost done here."

"Okay, well call me if you come up with anything new, alright? I don't care what time it is."

"Will do," Korsak promised. "Now get out of here, kid!"

Jane stretched her arms as she left the building and smiled as she imagined collapsing on her bed as soon as she got home. The smile soon dropped, however, when the thought of bed reminded her of Maura.

_Have you been sleeping? she wondered. You've been gone forty-eight hours now. Is he giving you food and water, or is he making you suffer because I can't figure out where you are?_

Her train of thought was interrupted when she noticed something white fluttering in the wind, pinned under one of her windshield wipers. She pulled it out and saw that it was an envelope addressed to her, written in the same eerily perfect handwriting as the note on Maura's bed. She tore it open as fast as she could and pulled out a paper. It read:

_Dear Janie,_

_You're getting warmer. I'm very proud. I've included a reward for you, but try to hurry - my patience is wearing thin._

She looked in the envelope again and saw a smaller paper was still there. She let out a small gasp when she recognized Maura's handwriting:

_Find me, Jane. I love you._

The first noted had filled her with anger but these six words turned that anger into determination. She was positive it was Mark who had taken Maura and he was letting her know that she was on the right track. With renewed energy Jane ran back into the precinct to show the detectives their latest clue.

"This is good news!" Korsak said smiling. At least Maura was okay enough to write that note."

"But it's also bad news," Moore stated sullenly. "What does he mean by 'you're getting warmer'? Does he knew what we've found out so far - that we know his identity? Where is he getting his information from?"

Jane hadn't stopped long enough to think about the negative implications of the notes. "But we were only talking about him for about twenty minutes. Are you saying he somehow heard us? That he's got a bug in BPD and then wrote the note and placed it on my car all within that short amount of time?"

"I guess that's possible. But I'm betting he somehow knows about the BOLO we sent out. How long ago was that, Korsak?"

"About three hours ago," the older detective replied. "So if he's got ears on the inside that would be plenty of time for him to write and plant the notes."

"So we might have a dirty cop?" Jane asked, hating the fact that it was a very real possibility. "Damn, and how does he know my car?" She ran a hand through her unruly hair as she considered this unsavory detail.

"You went out with him, right? Did you ever drive?" Moore asked.

"Well yeah, but I don't think he even saw it."

"I wouldn't put anything past this guy," Moore retorted.

"I don't like this, Jane," Korsak told her.

"And you think I do?" she spat back, anger rising in her. "I mean, if this creep actually is targeting me, how long has it been going on? If he's got eyes and ears in BPD, if he can kidnap and impersonate another man for a week without anyone realizing it, and if he can take my best friend, my Maura, right out from under me without a trace and-" Jane paused, starting to choke up at this last point. She turned away for a moment, willing herself not to cry. She continued, not caring that her voice was wavering. "If he can do all this then we've got to make sure we stay damn sharp and bing this bastard to justice. I don't care if he's hunting me because I'm not going to stop hunting him. He has no idea what he's done."  
The room was charged with the passion, energy, and fury that was Jane Rizzoli. The two men in the room could only listen as they felt like they were being rallied into action by a fearless leader.

"Now Korsak," she finally continued, "I need you to get me on the phone with Detective Hansen from the Salem Police Department."

"Okay," he said quietly, hardly wanting to question this impassioned woman. "He may not be in though, Rizzoli. It's kind of late-"

"I don't care what time it is," she responded coolly, now in complete control of her emotions, "because I just remembered something I should have connected a long time ago."

"What is it, Rizzoli?" Moore ventured to ask.

"It's his handwriting. That bizarrely perfect handwriting. I've seen it before." Jane wasn't sure yet how these seemingly random pieces fit together, but she stopped believing in coincidences long ago when it came to her line of work.

"And Korsak? I need you to get me that copy of Ellen Ward's file again. I have a really bad feeling I'm right about this"

* * *

Tuesday morning

Maura awoke in a haze. She was slowly becoming lucid but her surroundings were still blurred.

_God, I feel like I've been drugged. Why can't I move? Where am I?_

As she regained consciousness she observed that her wrists and ankles were bound immovably with duct tape and there was a thick rope pulled taut across her thighs and sternum to fasten her in an upright position to a wooden chair. She wanted to try to move but feared losing her balance and crashing to the hardwood floor beneath her. She found herself alone in a room that appeared to be an office in someone's home. The room had some very basic furniture: a desk with a computer, a long table, several wooden chairs, and two windows on adjacent walls.

_Where the hell am I? How did... Wait. I'm starting to remember... It was almost dark. Was it last night? I have no idea how long I've been unconscious... I was in my room thinking about Jane and wondering how her interrogation had gone. Why was she being interrogated? Oh, that's right! We had just heard that Charlie had been murdered. Do they think she's a suspect? Focus, Maura. Okay. How did I get here? What else happened?_

Maura was getting more frustrated with the lack of answers and felt her mind was just as bound as her body.

_Someone approached me from behind. I didn't hear him until it was too late and then I couldn't breathe... He was covering my mouth and nose with a cloth... It was damp and had a slightly sweet taste... Of course - it must have been soaked in chloroform or ether. That's what knocked me out. Probably ether because chloroform is nearly inaccessible to the public, but I don't recall experiencing nausea and vomiting, so it likely was chloroform after all..._

_But God, chloroform has such a low therapeutic index that a slight overdose could have easily put me into cardiac or respiratory arrest and potentially killed me! Luckily it's only left me with a pounding headache. Neither of those chemicals would have kept me unconscious for this long, though - maybe only about ten minutes, which would be just enough to get me out of my apartment..._

_I did wake up right after the chloroform! But it didn't last long. I remember a face - a face I knew... It was Charlie! He said he was there to help me and that I needed to drink some water to feel better..._

_Why the hell was Charlie there? He was supposed to be dead! He must have faked it. But why - and how? He must have kidnapped me and when the chloroform dissipated from my system he gave me a drugged drink that's kept me unconscious until now._

Maura winced and let her head loll back as the pain there throbbed even more from her exertion to remember what had happened to her.

_So what do I do now? Dare I try to call out for help? Can I remain here passively with the hope that help will come to me?_

Her thoughts of escape were interrupted by the sound of approaching footsteps.

"Ah, my dear Maura. I'm glad you're finally awake," he said as he pulled up a chair and sat to face her. "You're not nearly as entertaining when you're asleep. And for so long too! You know you've been completely out of it for about thirty-six hours?"

"What the _hell_ are you doing with me, Charlie? Is this because Jane dumped you? I hope you're prepared to deal with the consequences of what you-"

He quickly slapped her across the face to shut her up, causing her chair to teeter enough that she almost fell to the side. Maura was horrified and stunned speechless as she tried to regain her senses.

"That's better. Now you don't ask questions until I say you can. Next outburst like that and I'll tape your blathering mouth shut. Got it?"

"Yes," she hissed, using that one word to convey that she would play along for now but ultimately would not back down.

"Good," he said, satisfied with her answer. "You know, I've watched you for a long time and I thought I understood you pretty well, Maura Dorothea Isles, but I've never seen you so feisty. It's strangely arousing and annoying."

Maura snorted in disgust. She wanted to ask what he meant by watching her, but figured her best and only defense for now was her ability to speak, so she didn't want to jeopardize it just yet.

"So I imagined you awoke pretty confused, huh? Tried to take in your surroundings, found you were in a strange place, and unfortunately couldn't move an inch. Is that about right? That pretty much sums up what the other girls described..."

More now than at any other time in her life, Maura was grateful beyond possible articulation that she had mastered control over her emotions. She first needed this ability when she was a young girl to hide how hurt she was by her parents' benign emotional abuse, as well throughout her pre-college school years to mask her feelings of insecurity among her peers. This talent was later utilized when she kept her feelings of attraction toward Jane undetected - but luckily that was a use for her skills that was no longer needed. And finally, in this moment, that talent kept her face from betraying the extreme loathing and abhorrence she now felt for the man in front of her. Charlie was obviously trying to get a rise out of her but she was not going to bite.

"Miss Isles, I'm impressed with your self-control. Or is it that you have no feelings? Isn't that how the stories go? You care more about the dead than the living? Maura the Bore-a. That nickname always gave me a good laugh."

He clearly was still waiting for a reaction but he was only met with a determined, unwaveringly stoic expression.

Finally she broke her silence. "You obviously want me to speak, so how about instead of answering your asinine questions I propose my theory of what has transpired since you abducted me?"

The man across from her seemed amused by her suggestion. "Please, by all means, proceed, Miss Isles. Dazzle me."

Maura remained unfazed by his sarcasm. "You came into my apartment Sunday night when I was alone and rendered me unconscious with the use of a cloth soaked in chloroform, applied directly over my mouth and nose, forcing the poison into my system and causing nearly immediate unconsciousness. Since chloroform is not easily obtainable, I'm assuming that as a BCU medical student you abused your access to the school's chemistry facilities where it most certainly would have been kept due to its common use as a solvent because of it is relatively unreactive nature, high miscibility with most organic solvents, and convenient volatility."

She paused to see if he would give any indication as to the accuracy of her postulation, but when all he said was "Go on, Google Mouth," she continued.

"You then removed me from my apartment - likely into your car - where I would have soon woken up. When I recognized you, you told me I needed to drink the water you handed me, and in my less than lucid state of mind I blindly accepted. The drink was drugged with something less immediate, but far longer lasting than the chloroform, which left me unconscious until approximately twenty-three minutes ago."

She stopped again, this time feeling she earned a decent response from him.

He smiled at her. "I am very impressed. Truly, you have a dizzying intellect, Miss Wikipedia."

Maura scoffed. "Don't disgrace my logic with_ that_ term. Wikipedia is frequently incorrect. Very little of what they write is rigorously peer-reviewed."

He didn't respond and just kept looking at her with that dumb smile that sickened her.

"Stop staring, you insufferable pig. I can't believe you're Detective Korsak's nephew-"

"And let me stop you right there, Blondie. _That_ is the one and only account so far on which you are misguided."

"Excuse me?"

"I'm not Korsak's nephew," he explained. "I'm not the real Charlie. I killed the real Charlie and I've been acting as him for over a week now. One of my most impressive stints, if I do say so myself. And I made him get the chloroform for me from the chem lab. "

Maura's brain was reeling at this new revelation. _How the hell did he pull that off? And how can he speak so nonchalantly about the fact that he committed murder?_

"The real name's Mark, by the way," he added as an afterthought.

Maura just stared blankly, not caring to grace his confession with a comment.

"Fine - give me the silent treatment. It's always a phase in any relationship."

Maura just raised an eyebrow - partly amused, but mostly horrified by his delusions.

"Now, I'm sorry I've had to keep you in such a stuffy, unsightly room, but you see, the location is ideal for my needs. The window behind you faces the home of a family who's vacationing for the summer so we don't need to worry about them looking in, and the window on your left looks out over the front of the house and the street. So as soon as Janie finally finds us I'll know when she's here."

Maura's head snapped up at the mention of Jane's name.

"Ah, finally a reaction from Maura Isles, the woman devoid of emotion - that is, apparently except when it comes to a certain Italian woman, isn't that right?

She continued looking at him with an icy glare.

"That's what I thought. You know, it was amusing how long it took for you two to finally hook up. That was on Friday, right? I would have thought you'd have enough brains between the both of you to figure it out a bit sooner, but I guess I helped a little with that realization, didn't I?"

Maura felt her face reddening._ How does he know all this? What I wouldn't give to smack that smug look off his grimy face..._

"It's alright - you don't need to thank me. But you know, it really was a shame that Jane chose you over me. I thought I had her for a while, but who was I kidding? She's loved you for years, right? Oh, you should have seen your face at your party!" He laughed at the memory. "And I've got to admit, I was surprised that she called me up with the invite, but how could I pass up being paraded in front of you as the man in her life? It was just too good. But you acted your part very well, so I have to commend you for that. It finally won you your woman and made things so much more interesting for me. I'll show you what I mean."

He leaned in even closer to Maura and she turned her head, repulsed by his close proximity, so she wouldn't have to look at him.

"I can't wait for Janie to arrive. I've been planning it out all day. She's gonna come in and find me with my gun to your head," in one fluid motion he whipped out the weapon from behind him where Maura hadn't noticed it and held it to the side of her head.

She reflexively flinched, but turned to look him in the eye to show that she wasn't afraid of him.

"Or maybe I'll save that for a little later..." he mused aloud. "Now I know - I'll leave the door to the room open so that when she comes up the stairs she'll see you sitting right here at the end of the hall. She'll be so happy to see you alive that she won't even check to see that I'm standing behind the door, waiting for her. I'll use a little chloroform to knock her out, tie her up, and then the real fun will begin."

Maura did not want to hear what he had planned, but she forced herself to remain attentive. _Anything I know about his plans might help later somehow..._

Mark continued, "How long should I keep you two together? I'll need to take Janie into another room eventually because I want to talk to her alone. Maybe that's when I'll make love to her as she's tied down. I've been waiting for a long time - for both of you - and I think she'll be first."

"NO!" Maura screamed involuntarily, her stony resolve finally cracking. "Don't you _dare_ touch her!" she added, her tone laced with enough force and hatred that it left Mark momentarily speechless.

"Bravo!" he said, clapping his hands. "That's _exactly_ what I meant by your little relationship making things more interesting for me. You see, I can threaten the two of you independently and I don't get the most satisfying results. I mean, I just held a gun to your head and you weren't afraid of me pulling the trigger, and I'm banking on Jane being mindless enough to not care about her own safety and come here alone so she thinks she has a chance of keeping you alive. You're both stupid for it, by the way, but it's very admirable. And what makes it even better is that the two of you have this stubborn resolve to be strong and selfless while at the same time you snap like a twig at the mere mention of harm coming to your lover."

Maura hated how right he was.

"Ah, young love. So poetic. So tragic."

That made Maura snap. "You son of a bitch! You lay a hand on her and I swear you'll have hell to pay! I'm going to keep fighting and I know Jane will keep fighting until either you or we are dead!"

"You know, I think you're right, Maura. I believe things will end up that way," he said thoughtfully. "But for now, I'm afraid that little outburst has earned you what I promised before."

"I know this is inconvenient for you," he said when he reached for the duct tape on the floor. "But I'll make you a deal. You be on your best behavior for the next few hours, and I'll let you write a quick note to your lovely officer. And if that isn't enough motivation, I know you must be starving so you behave and I'll bring you some food and water along with the paper and pen. Sound good?"

As Mark approached her, Maura responded by letting out a string of profanities like she had never done before - right up until her mouth was forcefully taped shut.


	9. Questions and Answers

As Jane drove to the Salem Police Department on Wednesday morning she mentally reviewed what she had realized the night before when she saw Mark's handwriting. She now had three samples of it: his writing on the graduation card and the two notes he had left her after taking Maura. Something about that last note finally triggered a memory from two weeks ago when she had briefly skimmed through the file of the seaweed strangulation victim, Ellen Ward.

In that file were copies of letters Ellen and her boyfriend and convicted murderer, Cameron Parker, had written each other not long before she was killed. Thirteen letters were found in a drawer in Ellen's room when the police had searched it for evidence. They scanned the papers and included the copies in the file in case something in them could aid in their investigation.

Jane was almost positive that Mark's handwriting matched the penmanship in some of those letters. She had no idea why that would be the case but she knew to trust her instincts, even if they led her down a dead end. Jane Rizzoli had a knack for getting things right when she went with her gut instead of only considering what appeared to be logical.

_There's no such thing as coincidences here,_ she reminded herself as she walked into SPD. Last night Korsak had gotten Jane on the phone with Detective Hansen in Salem's homicide unit because he was the lead on Ellen Ward's case four years ago. She had questions and wanted to find some answers so he told her to meet him here this morning.

"I actually remember this case," Detective Hansen said as he and Jane eased into two comfortable chairs behind his desk. "Ones that we wrap up so quickly usually aren't that memorable but this one was because of the murder weapon."

"The seaweed." Jane stated.

"Right. Never seen it before or since. Pretty bizarre if you ask me."

"Yeah, I was actually one of the ones who found Ellen's body and called it in," Jane told him, remembering the details with perfect clarity. She had thought of that fateful day many, many times over the last four years and it usually wasn't because of the murder she had stumbled upon. That day was especially memorable because she had met the person who would soon become her best friend and the love of her life.

Hansen grunted. "No kidding? Ya know, I actually do remember you. You were just a kid then. You and that blonde, right?"

"Yeah," Jane responded with a smile. "That was us."

Hansen started to recall the events more clearly. "I remember you girls were smart. You'd already put together some of what happened by the time we got there."

Jane nodded. "And that case is why I wanted to talk to you. Now I know it sounds pointless. Why bring up a case that ended quickly and was wrapped up in a nice little bow with no complications? What does that have to do with my friend's abduction?"

Hansen listened respectfully, showing no sign that he was doubting her reason for being there. "So you've got a hunch, right?"

"Yeah. I can't explain it just yet."

"Well that's the nature of hunches, Rizzoli. Once you can explain it, it either becomes fact or fallacy and then you move on. So tell me what you're thinking."

Jane relaxed a bit, feeling some of the tension in her shoulders ease up now that she knew this man was willing to humor her.

"Well what's the deal with these letters here?" she asked as she looked at the copies he had given her. "You have copies of seven letters that say they're from Cameron and six from Ellen. I really don't care about their content; it's Cameron's penmanship that strikes me as odd. Two of those letters have this messy scrawl I can barely read while the other five are written beautifully - perfectly," she explained, gesturing to the letters as she talked. "Why such a difference in his handwriting?"

Hansen replied without hesitation. "Cameron told us he had sprained his right wrist when those two were written so he used his left hand for a while. I remember it well because I asked him that exact question."

Jane grunted. "Huh. Sounds like a good excuse to me."

Hansen raised an eyebrow, wondering what she was getting at. "Well we had no reason to push him or investigate the matter of his handwriting any further. We had this one put away before the end of that night. His prints were all over the murder weapon and when we caught him he confessed. Believe me, that guy was mental. Completely unhinged. He said when Ellen left he couldn't stand the thought of her being with anyone else, so he decided to keep her from ever being with anyone again."

Jane shook her head. "I don't know, Detective. There's still something I don't like about this."

"I don't know what more to tell you, Officer Rizzoli," Hansen said honestly. "You say you had a hunch this has something to do with your friend's disappearance, right?"

"Yeah. And maybe I am just grasping at anything I can get my hands on to make sense out of all this. She was the blonde girl that was with me when we found Ellen, actually. We've been best friends ever since."

Hansen could see the pain in her eyes. "I'm sorry Rizzoli. I can't imagine what this is like for you right now."

"Maybe I'm hypersensitive about the tiny details because I'm emotionally involved in this case, but I just can't help thinking I'm supposed to be able to figure this out. That he wants me to find them."

"Well he just might, but I'm not sure how this case connects."

Jane was determined to have him understand. "Look at this copy of the two notes Maura's abductor left for me. That nice handwriting looks exactly the same to me as those other five letters of Cameron's. Doesn't it?"

"Well, yeah, I can see why you would say that," the detective admitted, "but I know Cameron didn't take your friend and write this note."

"Can you be sure? We have the name of one man and some pretty solid evidence that links him to Maura's disappearance, but Cameron could be an accomplice. He might be the one writing the notes." Jane paused, trying to figure out how these pieces could fit together. "I think I'd actually really like to talk to this guy. Where is he? Something's off about all this."

Hansen just shook his head. "I'm afraid you can't talk to him. That was one more weird aspect to all of this. Cameron died in prison a month after we locked him away."

Jane couldn't believe all the bad luck she was having. "What? How did that happen?"

"He was poisoned and the officers at the prison were never able to trace the source. The coroner identified cyanide in his system, so someone smuggled it in and got it into his food but they never figured out who it was."

_Was his death yet another stroke of bad luck for me, or did someone kill him to keep him from talking about something? Maybe about Ellen?_

* * *

As Jane headed back toward Boston her thoughts were on Charlie - or rather Mark - and what his role might have been in Ellen Ward's murder. Detective Hansen didn't seem to think there was a connection, but that handwriting wasn't like anything Jane had seen anywhere else.

_To me, it's almost as good as a fingerprint. Too bad no one else is going to going to be so easily convinced. Ellen Ward's murder started the evil that has since then worked its way into my life and Maura's. What does he want? And where would he keep her? Think Rizzoli. He would go somewhere he felt safe - someplace where the cops wouldn't think to look but I should be able to figure out. Where is a safe place in Boston? God, I hope he is still in Boston... The place I feel safest here is in my own home... Could that be it? Is he keeping her in his home?_

She had Korsak on the phone within seconds.

"Hey, Rizzoli. How'd the meeting with Hansen go?"

"It was fine but listen, Korsak. There was an address listed for Mark right? Have we searched it yet?"

"Yeah, first thing this morning we had a team out there," he responded. "They didn't find anything."

Jane gripped the steering wheel even tighter as her frustration mounted. "You're sure? They checked every square inch? There's no hidden basement or spare rooms? They checked the grounds around his house? Are there woods nearby?"

"I'm sure about the house, Jane. And it sat on only a quarter acre of land so there's no place to hide there."

"Well what about a family home? Do his parents live nearby? Brothers, sisters, cousins... Anyone? Maybe he's keeping her at a friend's place?"

Korsak sighed, hating to hear the desperation in her voice. "We're still working on finding relatives and other people he might be in close contact with. Remember we've only known his identity since last night. We're doing everything we can right now to find his location."

"Well you have to be able to do more. Maura's been gone for almost three full days, Korsak! You know what the statistics are on kidnappings, what the likelihood of finding happy endings is after this kind of time frame."

"Jane, I know you want answers and I know you're frustrated that you can't do more about this but I'm telling you, we are doing everything we can to get this guy. In fact, I was just on my way out to try to interview his neighbors about anything they might know."

"Okay. I'm sorry, Korsak. I'm not trying to accuse you of not doing your job. I just feel like I'm hitting one dead and after another."

"I know, Rizzoli. And we're gonna get this guy, okay? But I've gotta go now. See ya."

"Bye."

Jane tossed her phone onto the passenger seat next to her and hoped that no one would bother her for a while. She did feel hopeful about potentially learning something about Mark's family. _Of course he wouldn't be at his own place, but maybe there was some distant family member he thinks the cops can't track down... Maybe there's an abandoned house he's using..._

Jane reached a realization that made her nearly rear end the car in front of her as it stopped at a red light.

_Of course! I've been so focused on Mark and his family that I stopped thinking about Charlie and his own family - not Korsak, but his immediate family. What is it Mark told me that first night? I asked him about his home - Charlie's home - and if he was renting it out..._ "I keep the house as it was and use it for me and the occasional guests."_ That's what he told me. Could Maura be one of those 'occasional guests'?_

_The police checked out the house right after Charlie's body was found and reported that it hadn't been touched for months, but if that info was leaked to Mark he would have known that the cops were no longer interested in the residence, making it the perfect hideout. And he knew that I would eventually realize this. I guess the next thing I have to do is to take this bastard down and bring Maura home._

Jane quickly corrected her direction and turned down a street that would now lead her to Beacon Street - exactly where Mark had made a point of telling her the house was located.

* * *

**Author's Note: I know this chapter is a bit short, but it's setting up the madness that is about to ensue...**

**Any predictions? I originally thought this story would be around 7 chapters, but it's taken on a life of its own and gone a totally different direction than I first had in mind. Now I think it needs 3-4 more to wrap it up with what I have planned. But who knows - one of your ideas just might spark my imagination even more! I'd love to hear them or just your thoughts in general about the story so far. I'm having a lot of fun with this one!**


	10. Finding Meaning in the Madness

"Hey, Korsak."

"What is it, Jane? I really can't talk right now. I'm about to interview someone."

"Sorry. I'll make this quick. Which house on Beacon Street was Charlie's?"

"Let's see. I can't remember the number off the top of my head but it's on Joy Street just off of Beacon. It's a big, red brick, old-fashioned looking with a wrap-around porch and this flowery bench swing out front that my sister loved."

It was late afternoon when Jane spotted Joy Street just ahead of her and prepared to turn onto it. She was debating whether she should tell Korsak why she wanted this information. After all, Mark and Maura might not even be there at all.

"Hey, Rizzoli, you need anything else? I really gotta go."

"Uh, no. That's it. Thanks, Korsak."

Jane hung up her phone and slowed her car as she drove down Joy Street. _Man, Beacon Hill is a ritzy neighborhood. One of the most expensive in Boston. I wonder what Charlie's dad did for a living because this kind of money definitely didn't come from the Korsaks._

There was a lot of red brick and wrap-around porches so she wasn't too sure Korsak's vague descriptions would help, but then she saw it - the bench swing he had mentioned near the door. Jane came to a stop in front of the house. _There might be other houses on this street with swings like this, but I'm guessing this is the only one with a banner on the front door that says_ "Welcome home, Janie!"

Jane tried to process what she was seeing - what appeared to be a blatant invitation for her to face whatever was inside that house.

_It's now or never, _Jane thought as she slowly approached the house, gun drawn._ With my luck he probably knows I'm here and is ready for me. There's no such thing as a plan in this kind of situation except plan to survive and do whatever it takes to make that happen and get Maura out of here._

When she reached the front door she tried the knob and found it to be unlocked. She winced but kept her gun raised as the old, rarely used door loudly creaked on its hinges, surely alerting anyone inside of her presence.

_No point in hiding or trying to be quiet anymore._ "I'm here, Mark!" she called loudly. "I want to hear you out and I don't want anyone to get hurt." Jane was never good at being inconspicuous, but she had received special training for negotiations and hostage situations, so if she could, she was determined to literally talk their way out of things getting messy.

"Don't want anyone to get hurt? Your gun would suggest otherwise, Officer," came the disembodied voice of the man she had realized just yesterday morning was not dead.

She whipped her head around, trying to find the source of the sound. "Just come out, Mark. If you come clean then I can too."

Mark laughed. "You and I both know that's not how this is going to work. I've spent plenty of time chatting with you, Jane. I want something a bit different this time."

_Where the hell is he?_ She slowly advanced into the large open entrance of the spacious home with every muscle in her body tensed and ready for action.

"So what do you want, Mark? Talk to me. I just want Maura back unharmed and I'll make sure you get whatever you want."

"And what if I already have what I want, Janie?"

She turned a corner and was now facing a sweeping staircase. _He's upstairs._

Jane blanched as she heard a pained scream wrench through the silence. _Maura's scream._

She fought to keep her hands from shaking. "Damn it, Mark! Leave her alone! You've got me here now so come out and face me!"

"Noooo!" was the next anguished sound that came from her friend.

Jane couldn't stand it any longer. She bolted up the staircase four steps at a time and stopped at the top, sweeping her gun along a wide arc to take in her new surroundings. She heard Maura scream again and took off to the right.

Jane came to a stop in front of a closed door and heard Maura cry out from the other side, "Don't you _dare_ touch her!"

Jane tried the handle but it was locked. She took a step back and put all her force behind a powerful kick to the handle that fractured the door.

She pushed inside and found herself looking at a room that appeared to be empty except for some plain wooden furnishings. _What the hell?_ There was a voice recorder sitting on the desk that was the source of Maura's screams. _No no no..._ She realized her situation and turned just in time to see the wooden bat crash into her forehead.

* * *

_What is going on? Why do I feel like an anvil fell on my head?_

The room swirled around Jane and she felt like she was going to be sick. She tried to move so she could lay down but realized she was fastened to a chair and couldn't move at all. That was enough to remind her of where she was.

Her head snapped up and found what it was looking for.

"Maura! You're okay!"

The blonde was similarly tied down about ten feet away and had her mouth taped shut. Maura nodded and Jane could tell she was attempting to smile. Just being in the same room again was enough to give the two women some hope.

"Yes she is," came Mark's cool reply as he walked into the room. "You came alone like I asked and so I kept her alive for you to see. Aren't compromises wonderful?"

Jane's eyes followed the man who had led her to believe he was an entirely different person. He tried to worm his way into the favor of her emotions and ended up abducting the woman she loved. Her expression conveyed absolute loathing that was not missed by its intended recipient.

"Geez, Jane. Enough with the dagger eyes. You're both still alive, aren't you? You should be thanking me for that."

"Thanking you?" she spat out incredulously. "Really? You dare say that to my face after everything you've done? You better enjoy this now because as soon as I get my hands on your sorry ass, I'm-"

"You're gonna what, Janie? You really think you're getting out of this? Nobody knows where you are, Jane. You're little five-oh friends have no idea you're in trouble."

"How can you possibly know that?"

"I've been using several methods to keep tabs on you - to know where you were, who you were talking to, how much you were finding out. For instance, your phone is bugged. I quickly took care of that on our first date when you went to the bathroom," he explained. "It was very wise of you, by the way, to not tell Detective Korsak on your way what you were up to. I was about to take some very drastic measures to make up for that potentially fatal error."

"You bugged my phone? You asshole!"

"Language, Janie. I'd watch myself if I were you. You're not exactly in a position to be making any demands here. Look where that landed your pretty little friend." He gestured to the tape over Maura's mouth.

"Well I'm glad she gave you a piece of her mind, you bastard!" Jane shot Maura an approving smile and earned another almost smile from her friend.

The smile was literally slapped off Jane's face though when Mark crossed the room to her.

"Listen, Jane. You two are only alive because I'm _allowing_ that to be the case for right now. You can ask questions when I say you can, and unless you'd like to join your friend as a mute, I suggest you _shut up_!"

"No, you listen, asshole! You better drop the act and let us go now before things become a lot worse for you. You've already got Charlie's blood on your hands and the abduction of both of us, and I know you had something to do with Ellen Ward's murder four years ago, so you better-"

She stopped with a gasp as Mark pulled out a gun and held it to Maura's head.

"Yeah, that's right, Rizzoli. I've about had it with the lip from the both of you and it's time for you to learn to do what you're told."

Jane glanced down at her holster and saw that Mark had removed her gun. She quickly scanned the room and found it lying far out of possible reach on the desk next to the now silent voice recorder.

"Okay. I'll shut up and only talk when you say I can just like you wanted but please - _please_ leave her alone. You wanted to get me here and now I am, Mark. If this is all about me then you don't need to hurt her anymore."

Mark's lips twisted into a smile. "I love the sound of the great Jane Rizzoli begging. What do you think, Maura?" he asked as he bent forward to see her face, never letting the gun drop from its target.

Maura's nostrils flared in obvious contempt.

"Maura, Maura. You're awfully cute when you're mad. Don't you agree, Jane? I'm sure you're well acquainted with the many angles of Maura Isles, aren't you?"

Jane just let her eyes bore into his, not deigning to grace his words with her own.

"But don't be so egotistical, Janie," Mark continued. "This is very much about both of you and has been for a long time." Mark looked back at Maura. "Unfortunately for you, though, Miss Isles, I need some alone time with Jane and I'm afraid your presence would be too distracting for her."

Jane did not like the sound of this. "Don't do this, Mark," she pleaded earnestly with a level tone. "Leave her alone."

"Don't worry, Jane," he said as he took a step back and aimed the gun at Maura. He stole a quick glance over to the brunette to see her reaction and smiled at her panic-stricken face.

"Go to hell!" she screamed, furious to see him toying with her emotions.

"Nah, not today, Janie. But like I said - don't worry. I've got big plans for later with Blonde here." And at that he flipped the gun in his hand and struck the butt of it into Maura's head, knocking her out cold and sending her limp form to the hard floor below."

"Oh, Maura," Jane whispered, feeling more defeated now than she had ever felt before. "I'm so sorry."

"Good - she still has a pulse," he announced as he pressed a finger to her neck. "Maura will be just fine right here. It's where she's spent the last few days after all, and she has a lovely view out the front of the house. But you and I, Jane, are going to continue our time together in the master bedroom down the hall. So are you going to cooperate for me?"

"Like hell I am!"

"I thought you might feel that way, so I guess I'll have to carry you." He turned with his back facing Jane and pulled something out of the desk drawer.

Jane snorted. "You're more of an idiot than I thought if you think I'm going to hold still and let you carry me."

He turned back to face her. "Oh, trust me, Jane. You'll be holding still."

Jane stiffened and held her breath as he approached her, but ultimately could not fight the reflex to breathe in the chloroform that was being pressed to her mouth and nose.

* * *

Ten minutes later Jane awoke with a terrible migraine. She found herself laying on a large bed with her arms and legs stretched out and tied to the four bedposts.

_Great. I love finding myself in new vulnerable positions every time I wake up._

She lifted her head as much as she could manage and found herself alone. She tried tugging on the ropes that bound her to see if she could create any slack but there was no way she was wriggling her way out of those knots.

_Might as well get this started. I am not a patient woman._

"Mark!" she yelled, with the little strength she could muster. "Get your cowardly ass in here! Let's talk."

"Ah, welcome back, Janie," he said, turning on the smile Jane had once thought was charming but now saw as pure, heartless evil. "So you want to talk?"

"Yes I do. I think I deserve a lot of explaining from you."

"I agree, Jane. But why don't you start - ask me any question." He came and sat down on the bed next to her, which she found repulsive.

"Okay. Here's one: Do you have to sit so close?" she asked dryly, not caring to mask the annoyance and disdain she clearly felt for this man.

"I've earned the right to sit this close to you," he claimed. "I have waited years for this day, Jane, when I could be completely honest with who I am and tell you what I've done so that I could be right here with you."

Jane raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to explain whatever he had apparently waited "years" to tell her, but he just sat there silently, waiting for her to ask the questions.

"Fine. I'll play your little game for now, Sutton." Jane closed her eyes and thought about what she needed to learn from this creep. _First things first._

"Is Maura okay?"

He smiled. "More concerned about your lady than about solving a murder? Interesting. Yes, she's fine. I checked on her while you were unconscious. She's still out cold and is going to have one hell of a headache when she wakes up, but she still has a pulse."

"Can I see her?"

"Nope. And enough questions about the blonde. I've spent the last three days with her as my only company so I want to focus on us."

"Fine, creep," she stated, slowly trying to get a feel for how much attitude he was going to allow her before he would resort to slapping or duct tape again. _So far so good,_ she thought as he merely waited for her to continue._ My attitude is part of my defense and if nothing else it might at least save my sanity._

_Now who do I want answers about first: Ellen or Charlie?_

Jane took a few more moments to consider the situation._ I'm hopefully about to learn some info that will fill in the gaps in two murder cases, mine and Maura's lives are in jeopardy, and this is all a game for him. Fine. Time to play ball._

"Tell me about Ellen. I know you wrote some of those letters to her. I don't care what Cameron said; I'm sure the good handwriting was yours because it's the exact same as the notes you left for me, and I think he wrote the few with the messy writing."

"Very good. You know, that's something I love about you, Jane. You listen to your gut, even if the people around you are too stupid to do the same. Ellen was exactly the type of woman I'm attracted to. She was smart, ambitious, beautiful, and stubborn. She caught my eye the moment I first saw her and I knew she needed to be mine. So I talked to her, flattered her, wined and dined her. We were seeing each other for a couple months and she was perfect until she began to get suspicious of me. She thought I was becoming possessive and controlling."

Jane snorted. "Yeah, ya think?"

Mark ignored her. "So she slowly started avoiding me. She would take a long time to answer my calls, give excuses when I wanted to take her out, and I didn't like it. So one night I kind of lost it. I went to her apartment, found her alone, and I raped her."

Jane shuddered to be so close to this beast of a man.

"I told her she was mine and things were going to stay that way until I ended them. The next day she called and said she would never see me again and that she was going to call the police to tell them what I had done."

"But you couldn't handle that, could you, Mark? You didn't want to accept any responsibility for what you had done. So where does Cameron Parker come into this? How the hell did you get someone else's prints on the murder weapon and get him to confess to murder?"

"He did murder her," Mark stated factually. "Cameron was an old buddy of mine. We met in juvie back in the eighth grade."

"You in juvie? Shocker."

Mark chuckled. "Yeah, we got ourselves messed up with drugs and got into some trouble. The problem with Cam, though, was he kept digging himself deeper and deeper into drugs and he really went mental. He was never quite the same after high school. He could never hold a job so I knew he would be looking for money."

Jane started to connect the dots. "So you talked this supposed friend of yours into killing your girlfriend in exchange for enough money to fund his lifestyle."

"Right," Mark confirmed. "But the poor guy was too stupid to make a clean getaway. Hell, he barely left the scene of the crime before you and Maura showed up."

Jane's interest piqued at this. "Did Maura tell you we were there?"

Mark just gave an amused smile. "Nope. She didn't need to. I was there, Jane. That was the first time I saw you two and you've both been my main interests ever since."

To say Jane was shocked would be a vast understatement. She even momentarily forgot the burning of her wrists and ankles from the chafing ropes as she absorbed what his words meant.

"You were there? You saw us?" she whispered. "You've known about us as long as we've known each other?"

"I have, Jane. And I waited four years to even have a conversation with you. It took so much patience, but I knew the time had to be right. I didn't mind, though. I just took a backseat as I watched the two of you become unlikely friends, grow up, and start these ambitious careers."

"Smart, ambitious, beautiful, and stubborn," she said, remembering his words describing Ellen. "That's what you saw in us too?"

"Exactly. I was incredibly impressed by you two that day. You found this dead girl and didn't run away screaming. In fact, you went to her, bent over her lifeless body and found meaning in the madness. Maura used her brains to discern exactly what happened and you used your detective eye and intuition to find the evidence to prove her right. And on top of that, you wanted to go chase down the murderer right then and there!" he laughed, still finding the memory very entertaining.

"And how the hell do you know all this? Were you watching us? Where were you that we couldn't see you?"

"You were surrounded by trees, Jane, and I was up in one of them."

Jane felt the goosebumps rising on her skin. "You went up a tree and watched us?"

"Don't look so surprised! You think Katniss Everdeen's the only one who can climb a tree? We heard you two not far away before you stumbled onto us. Cameron ran out of there as fast as he could and I bolted up the nearest tree."

Jane was still finding all of this very hard to swallow. She wanted him to be lying but she could see that for once he was being completely straightforward with her.

And why were the three of you wandering around Salem in the first place? You all lived in Boston."

"Well this was just after Ellen had called to say she was done with me. Next thing I did was call up Cameron and propose my deal with him. It wasn't exactly his first kill so he knew what he was doing and was desperate for the money so he accepted without hesitation. I had a tracking device on Ellen's phone and found that she was strolling through Salem, probably trying to clear her head. Cameron pulled the seaweed from the bay and we ambushed her in the trees and he did his job."

"So you were up in that tree while the cops were there too?"

"Yeah. I had to be. You two didn't leave Ellen's body so up I stayed. But honestly I didn't mind - it just added to the thrill. I'm an adrenaline junkie and a risk taker, Jane. I thrive off of things like that."

Jane could barely contain her anger, but she still needed information from this menace.

"And the letters?"

"Ah, yes. The letters. They were only between Ellen and me. Cameron's story about the sprained wrist was actually true, only it was my wrist. I admit my left hand could use some practice to improve its penmanship..."

"I don't care about that!" Jane blurted.

"Patience, Janie. I'm telling you everything you want to know, so the least you can do is let me tell it how I want to."

She just scowled in response.

"The letters didn't mean much. I just thought they would be a nice little detail for the police to find. All I had to do was doctor them up and replace my name with Cameron's. It wasn't hard. I gave my letters to him when I picked him up one our way to find Ellen and he stashed them in his room with the intent of letting the police find them later. We went to Ellen's apartment next, fixed up those letters to my liking, and left them in an easily accessible drawer. So like I said, they were only a minor detail, but just enough to leave the police without a doubt that Cameron was the one she was dating along with his confession to the same thing. I couldn't have imagined that four years later those letters would actually help bring you to me. That was a twist I admit I hadn't anticipated. Good for you, Janie. Sharp as ever."

"And did you kill Cameron or did you pay off someone inside the jail to work that gig for you?"

"You know, Jane, Maura would reprimand you for making assumptions. I had nothing to do with Cameron's death. I liked the guy and he did what I needed him to do. I don't know who ordered the hit on him, but I know his drug problems got him involved with gangs so my best guess is he managed to piss off one of them and they took him out."

"Alright, so there's one dead body you're not responsible for. But now I want to know what the kind and quiet Charlie ever did to get on your bad side."

"Well, to be honest, Charlie's only dead because he was about to go out on a date with you."

"Explain," she ordered curtly.

"I've got ears in BPD and my guy tipped me off to the fact that Detective Korsak was setting you up with his nephew."

"Who is it you've got working for you in BPD?" Jane wanted to wring the neck of whoever it was.

"That's one thing I'm afraid I can't tell you, Jane. Even though you won't get the chance to share any of this, I promised I wouldn't reveal this guy. I'm not the only one he's working for, so if he goes down there are gonna be a lot of pissed off criminals out there. And believe it or not, there are some codes of conduct I stick to."

Jane couldn't believe what she was hearing._ As soon as I get back I'm going to make sure we find that bastard._

"So you kidnap Charlie because he's going to go on a date with me? Seems a bit extreme."

"But he was about to have intimate access to you, one of the people I had been longing for for years." Mark ran his fingers across Jane's cheek and she spat into his face, unable to do anything else. "I would watch myself right now, Jane," he said as he wiped his hand to clear his face. "You're in a very vulnerable position, in case you'd forgotten."

"Back to Charlie," she growled.

"Right. So you think it was extreme of me, I prefer to call it risky."

"And you love the thrill of a risk."

"Precisely. Now look at that - you're beginning to understand me so well. So I took the risk. I tracked down Charlie, kidnapped him, and got a lot of useful information from him."

"You tortured that information out of him."

"And? I know how to get the results I want. After several broken fingers he had told me everything I needed to know to pass as Korsak's nephew, which honestly wasn't much. The kid was a stiff. You can thank me for not having to endure a painfully awkward dinner that night."

"I'm not going to thank you for anything, you ass."

Mark continued to ignore her snide remarks. "And after a week I simply didn't need him anymore. Keeping him alive along with keeping up the charade was becoming too much of a risk so I dropped them both and left his body to be found."

"And then on Sunday you snuck into Maura's apartment before her roommates came home and took her."

"Yes, which was fairly easy. She had been alone for several hours when I arrived. I can pick any lock and hers was no trouble at all. I had the chloroform ready to go and when I found her in her room I surprised her from behind and got her unconscious. I had brought a duffle bag along so I stuffed her in that and brought her back here which is where we've been since then."

Silence fell between them as Jane carefully considered everything she had just heard.

"You monster." Jane's words were full of the fury she felt rising in her. "You know, it was guys like you that made me want to be a detective so I could find them and lock them up forever."

"And you would have become a fine detective, Jane. You know I can't let you leave here. I've told you everything about me and you're the only one that knows. But before I dispose of you and Maura I fully intend on enjoying you as much as I can, just like I've been fantasizing for the past four years."

"I _am_ going to become a detective because we _are_ going to get out of here, dammit!"

Mark leaned over her to try and undo her pants.

"Don't you touch me!" she yelled, thrashing her newly energized body as much as she could while being pulled tight in four opposing directions.

"Janie, the more you fight the more exciting you make this for me. Now how about a kiss?" he asked, leaning toward her face.

Jane screamed as loud as she could in protest, not willing to give up as long as she had any strength left in her body.

As Mark hovered over her face momentarily, he flashed his horrid smile and pressed his lips onto hers.

And at the moment when Jane had lost all hope of leaving that room unharmed, she felt Mark's body collapse onto hers from the explosion of the bullet that brought her salvation.


	11. A Rat and a Hero

Julian Perkins hated his name. His first name, at least._ Hey, Julie-Ann!_ was how he was usually greeted by his peers; he had been teased mercilessly about it for as long as he could remember. It was what his mom had chosen for him after she'd seen some movie with a hero named Julian. That was just like his mom, always doing something loopy like calling her son a name no one else had. He despised his parents for having the bright idea and despised them even more for abandoning him.

_Stop feeling sorry for yourself,_ he chided as he walked through the house for the first time, taking long appreciative looks at the intricate tapestries on the walls and expensive decor that adorned the home.

Sixteen-year-old Julian Perkins wasn't exactly abandoned by his parents, though that's how he chose to see the situation. They, along with his sister, Carrie, who was two years younger, had been killed in a car accident last year. They were on their way to a concert that Julian had been butting heads with his parents about for the whole week leading up to it. He didn't want to go to some stupid classical concert - he would rather stay home alone instead. Ultimately, for the sake of ending the fight, his parents gave in and let him choose for himself. It was late that night on their way home when the accident happened, and although Julian tried to convince himself he was mad at them for leaving him, what he truly felt was extreme guilt. Guilt for having treated his parents the way he did and guilt for not dying alongside them.

In the year since then, he had bounced around from foster home to foster home and had now achieved a grand total of five different families that had agreed to put up with him, and five families that he had run away from.

Today was no different from the times he had run before. He couldn't stand living with those perfect families, trying to fit into their perfect lives. Julian was used to being a loner even before his family died, and now that they were gone he didn't want to belong to anyone else. With no living relatives he had no reason to keep anyone close to him. Despite his surly, unapproachable facade, Julian had a big heart. As a kid he longed to have friends but once the feared bullies began their deplorable cruelty no one dared to risk being by his side and face similar grief. Carrie was the one person he cared about more than anything in the world and now she was gone.

He didn't have the social awareness to realize that girls who passed him on the street would often steal a second look. He had an impressively large, strong physique for a sixteen-year old but it wasn't something he felt pride in or even noticed.

Julian preferred to go by "Rat". It was something Carrie first called him when they were little and the name just stuck. Years later neither of them could remember what made her think of it, but it always gave them a good laugh and it was an endearing term between the two of them. If he had any friends he imagined they would have used it too. His parents thought it was an awful nickname and refused to call him after a rodent. Fortunately his social worker respected his request to go by it and his foster families were kind enough to do the same.

When Rat ran away he would often resort to his old habit of stealing - it was strangely therapeutic - and that was exactly what he was doing today after stealthily breaking into a fancy home in Beacon Hill whose occupants, luckily for him, were on vacation and would not be home to notice for another month. The police had warned him about continuing his destructive habit of being a runaway and a thief. He was likely going to end up in juvie soon - it was only a matter of time if he kept it up, they had told him. Rat didn't really care though. He didn't have any goals for his life, no ambitions. He was a social outcast that just ate and slept with nothing more to offer anyone - at least that was how he viewed himself.

Rat continued his search of the house, occasionally tossing items of interest into his backpack that he could hock at a pawn shop. He went upstairs and into the master bedroom. _Jackpot._ A jewelry box full of pearl necklaces, gold earrings, jade rings, and the like were just waiting for him on the dresser.

He paused when he heard yelling outside. He moved toward the window closest to the noise and lifted up a section of the blinds just enough to look through. The window was across from another in the neighboring house and when Rat realized what he was seeing he was glad he had the blinds to shield him from view.

Closest to the window was a blonde woman tied to a wooden chair, her back to Rat. Facing her across the room was a brunette woman who was also tied down and looked fuming mad. She was the female voice the muffled yelling was coming from. The male stood between the two women and talked mostly to the brunette and sometimes gestured toward the blonde. Rat was tempted to try to open the window to hear them better, but he did not want to risk being seen and lose the protection of his anonymity.

_Oh, God._ Rat felt his heart drop when the man put a gun up to the blonde's head. He never anticipated he might be a murder witness and hoped that wouldn't be the case today.

The man and the brunette continued feuding and Rat's heart went out to the blonde. _I can't imagine how she must be feeling right now. That guy's been holding the gun to her head for at least two minutes._

Rat couldn't help noticing she looked like Carrie from the back - long, wavy blonde hair that fell past her shoulders. He flinched when the man struck her in the head with the gun and sent her crashing to the ground.

_I can't just stand here and watch this! But I can't look away either. That guy's got both a gun and a temperament that I don't want to face with only my Swiss Army knife... What do I do?_

He watched the man hold a cloth over the brunette's face until her body went limp. He deftly untied her ropes and carried her out of the room draped over his shoulder. Rat tried to catch a glance of the blonde but she had fallen too close to the wall. His head whipped to the side when he saw a light turn on in a room at the other end of the house.

_So he's moved the other woman. If he turned on the light does that mean he's staying there?_

Rat waited a couple minutes to see if the man would return to the blonde. When he didn't, Rat's protective instincts won over those of self-preservation and he ran out of the house.

He had no idea what to do but he kept moving - he had to do something. _If I just walk away after what I've seen then I'll be a coward. If I go in and die it really won't be a loss to anyone, but I just might be able to help them._

As Rat walked toward the front of the house he had been checking for any open windows that would give him access, but when he reached the front door he ended the effort. He found it slightly ajar and slowly poked his head in. There was no one in sight so he entered completely and switched open the blade on his knife.

Rat had never wielded his knife as a weapon before and felt sick to his stomach as he imagined a wide spectrum of possible consequences for his actions. _But if I don't help these girls I don't think anyone will._ This thought pushed him forward and he soon found the stairs. He carefully crept upward and paused at the top. He could hear subdued voices coming from the bedroom down the hall where the man had taken the unconscious brunette. _At least she's alive and talking._

Rat turned the opposite way and wove through a maze of turns, headed for where he thought the room he had been looking into should be._ This floor alone feels like the size of a mansion!_ The door was wide open and there was the blonde with a trickle of blood running down her face from the wound in her head, still unconscious and completely bound to the chair. He quickly ran to her side and cut through the ropes and tape that had been cutting into her skin for three days. He winced in sympathy for her when he noticed the deep bruising and abrasions that riddled her body. He propped her up into a sitting position against the wall and removed the tape from her mouth as carefully as he could.

She was still unconscious and Rat tried shaking her softly to wake her.

"Hey, lady," he whispered earnestly. "You've got to wake up. We need to get you and the other girl out of here."

Maura's eyes finally fluttered open. She gasped as she saw the strange teenage boy sitting in front of her and became horrified when she remembered what had happened before the blow from the gun had sent her into blackness.

"Ja-"

Rat quickly pressed his hand to her mouth to keep her quiet.

"Please don't talk," he implored. "Not so loud. The other girl is still in trouble. We need to help her."

Maura sensed his sincere efforts to give them aid and nodded in understanding.

"Thank you for cutting me free," she said quietly when Rat dropped his hand. "Who are you?"

"That doesn't matter," he said quickly. "Let's at least get you out of here and I'll see what I can do about the bad man."

"No. I am not going to leave here with Jane still in peril." Maura attempted to rise to her feet and stumbled. Rat caught her before she could fall to the ground again and she steadied herself against him. This was the first time she had stood and stretched her aching, battered body in seventy-two hours.

"Thank you. I think I'm okay now," she said as she fruitlessly tried to smooth out her ruined clothes. "And besides, if the only weapon you have is that pocket knife then you're going to need all the help you can get." Maura shuddered as she imagined how this evening could play out.

"Where are they?" she inquired.

"He took her to a room at the other end of the hallway. They were talking when I first came up."

"Good, Jane. Keep him talking," Maura seemingly said to herself as she tried to come up with a plan. Something dark on the desk at the other end of the room caught her eye and as she moved toward it she let out a grateful sigh.

"It's Jane's gun," she whispered and then paused thoughtfully. "You're a boy - you know how to use one?"

Rat had no qualms about admitting his fear of the idea. "No way. I've never touched a gun in my life."

Maura lifted the solid weapon in her right hand and closed her eyes momentarily as she willed herself to remember what Jane had said that day over a year ago when she took Maura to a shooting range. She went through the steps with the gun now in her hand as she recalled their conversation.

_"Have you ever shot one?" Jane asked with a raised eyebrow when Maura had suggested the idea of going shooting together._

_"Um... No," the blonde had admitted with a guilty look. "But I'm a fast learner!"_

_When they arrived at the shooting range Jane handed Maura the gun and waited to see if the blonde would have a natural feel for it._

_"Okay, point it." Seeing Maura's need for instruction she placed her hands on top of the blonde's to give some guidance and found herself wondering why she hadn't thought of this increasingly appealing idea herself._

_"Wrap your left hand around like this." She loved the feeling of her friend's soft hands and this was the longest they had been in contact. "Loosen up," the brunette instructed as she repositioned the blonde's arms. "Push and pull with the same amount of force."_

_"Okay," Maura said, repressing the huge grin she felt coming on. "Good?"_

_Maura nearly swooned at the approving, beaming smile Jane gave her then._

_"You look good!" Jane admitted only to herself just how beyond "good" Maura was looking right now. "Okay - it's loaded. Point it that way. And don't shoot the people next to us - I'd hate to have to lock you up," the brunette teased playfully._

_Maura smiled and then assumed what she hoped was a look of pure badassery. "Jane - do I look badass?"_

_Jane choked back the snort that threatened to come out when she saw Maura's painfully adorable expression and attempt at ferocity. "Yeah," she conceded with a grin. "You look like a badass."_

Maura smiled at the memory but her expression quickly hardened as she braced herself for whatever she was about to encounter.

"Alright. I'll take the gun and go in first. I don't know how he'll react so just be ready with your knife in case I can't take him down."

"Okay," Rat replied. He could tell she was nervous so he put a hand on her shoulder, which he realized was strange for him because he avoided physical contact with other people at all costs.

He waited until she looked him in the eye. "It's gonna be okay," he told her. "You can do this."

"Okay," she nodded, grateful for the encouragement. "I can do this. Let's go."

Anyone looking at them would have remarked on the odd pair they made - the tall, muscular young man nervous with a small pocket knife and the petite blonde woman confidently and competently wielding a cop's Glock.

Their minds were too occupied to think about such trivial things themselves, however, as they silently padded across the floor toward the increasingly audible voices.

"Don't you touch me!" came Jane's frightened yell, and it took every ounce of willpower in Maura's body not to cry out to the woman she loved. She just gripped the gun tighter and crept closer.

As they reached the door Jane let out a blood chilling scream of desperation and Maura was grateful to think that whatever was about to happen, it would all be over very soon. She assumed the correct shooting stance and aimed the gun where she hoped to find Mark and nodded to tell Rat she was ready for him to open the door for her.

Rat took a deep breath and in one sweeping motion he twisted the doorknob, pushed the door wide open, and ducked.

Maura immediately found her target straddling Jane. She gave her aim a slight correction to place the bullet directly where she calculated Mark's heart would be and pulled the trigger before he could even react to their intrusion. Maura felt the reverberations from the shot course through her body and leave her temporarily stunned. Once that split-second passed Maura's instincts took over and she ran to Jane and shoved the lifeless form of Mark Sutton to the ground.

Rat was floored by what he had just witnessed but quickly snapped into action to make use of his knife and started to saw through the thick rope that was holding Jane to the bed.

"Maura!" Jane cried with pure joy, tears streaming down her face.

"Oh, Jane," Maura cried as well, taking in her confined appearance. The brunette was soaked with Mark's blood but Maura could have cared less as she leapt onto the bed to take the place where he had been only moments before. She bent over Jane and pressed their lips together. No kiss they had shared before had been full of so much desperation, fear, joy, relief, or longing. A newly free hand of Jane's immediately cradled the back of Maura's head to hold her even closer.

Rat's eyes opened wide as he saw the scene unfold before him. After a moment he just shrugged and chuckled as he continued to liberate Jane's limbs. When he finished he stood there for a few seconds feeling awkward, his presence clearly forgotten, so he decided to leave the room for a while as the women were reunited and so that he could process what had just occurred.

"Maur, how did you-"

"Shh, Jane. It doesn't matter right now. Please just kiss me. I need you right now."

Jane completely understood and reciprocated this need to feel Maura close again after such a horrible separation to know that she was safe.

After another minute they broke apart and sat up on the bed but kept their hands held tight.

"Let's get out of here, Maur. We're both covered in that bastard's blood and we need to have him and us taken care of. Is that guy still here?" she wondered about Rat.

"I hope so," Maura replied. "We owe him our lives."

The blonde began pulling her shirt over her head and left Jane gawking in disbelief. "Geez, Maur, this is hardly the time or place!"

The blonde laughed - a sound that was music to Jane's ears. "Jane, this shirt is now covered in his blood, not to mention the fact that I've been wearing if for three days and I don't want to ever see it again. Besides, I'm wearing a tank top underneath. Don't get too excited," she added, managing some sarcasm with a smirk as she threw the unwanted garment to the floor.

"You wish," Jane quipped, returning the look and following suit as she pulled off her own soiled shirt and discarded it.

The two slightly less dressed women left the room hand in hand and walked downstairs to find Rat sitting on a couch.

"You go talk to him and I'll call Korsak," Jane suggested.

Maura nodded and went to join the boy.

"May I?" she asked, pointing to the empty space next to him.

"Of course," he said simply.

"I don't even know what to say," Maura began. "But thank you. You just saved our lives. You risked your own to save two girls you didn't even know and I don't think we'll ever be able to repay you."

"I don't want to be repaid," he answered honestly. "I really didn't even think about it. It just kinda happened."

"Well I think I can say that we and our families will be thanking you every day for the rest of our lives for your bravery."

Rat didn't know how to respond. No one had ever talked to him this way before with such gratitude, kindness, and reverence.

"Will you tell me your name now?"

"Uh, you can call me Rat."

"Rat?" Maura echoed dubiously. That would be the last name in her mind to call this young man.

"Yeah, well, my real name is Julian but I hate it. My little sister Carrie started calling me Rat and that's what I like to go by now." Rat was stunned that he had just spoken more than five words together to a stranger. But sharing a near-death experience with someone creates an indescribable yet undeniable bond that truly couldn't leave them to be categorized as strangers anymore.

"And you're Maura," he stated.

"I am," she smiled. "And this is Jane," she reported as the brunette walked into the room and sat on the other side of Maura.

"I gave Korsak a very brief version of what happened and he's bringing a team over here ASAP."

Maura let out a deep sigh of relief and gave Jane a light kiss. "We're going home."

Jane returned the kiss and pulled the woman she loved into her arms. "Yes we are."

* * *

**Author's Note: I believe I just have one more chapter to bring this all together. I've been so eager to finally get all my ideas out from the tangled mess in my head into a more polished form on the screen, but I've really enjoyed letting myself get caught up in this world for a little while and I'm going to miss it when it's over. Thanks for joining me on the ride. Stay tuned!**


	12. From the Ashes

"Hurry up, Jane!" Maura called. "You're going to make us miss the first pitch!"

Jane laughed as she paid for her hotdog and soda and rejoined the blonde. "I can't believe my girlfriend is so eager to watch a baseball game! I don't think you've ever lasted more than five minutes watching one at home."

"That is completely different and you know it. There is a vast difference in the amount of pleasure one receives from watching it on TV and from experiencing it live."

"Yeah, that's what she said," Jane quipped, trying and failing to hold back a laugh.

"Jane!" Maura cried in shock as she playfully punched the brunette's arm. "That is _not_ what I meant! I hate that line and yet you still find every instance to use it," she pouted.

Jane's laugh was unrestrained now. "Well if you weren't so damn cute when you complain about it I probably wouldn't even think of it! But c'mon, you totally set yourself up for that one," she said with a wry grin.

Maura chose to ignore the comment. "I can't believe you can stomach those," she gestured to Jane's hotdog.

"Let me just stop you right there, Poindexter," Jane said, raising up a hand. "I don't even wanna hear about the animal hooves and gonads and whatever else you were about to tell me is in one of these. I'm just going to enjoy it in peace." At that she lifted the hotdog up to her mouth but then stopped it mid air when a thought struck her. "Oh! I almost forgot!" she placed her food on a nearby picnic table. "Let this help me get back in your good graces."

She whipped out a brand new Red Sox baseball cap from her back pocket. "I bought this for you. Someday I'll take you to one of their games and then you can be a real fan with me."

"Oh, Jane!" the smaller woman squealed. "I love it!"

Jane placed the cap on her woman and smiled at how adorably out of place she looked with it in her immaculate designer dress and high heels. Maura was thrilled about the gift and immediately twisted it to the side, convinced that now she looked legit.

"What? Really, Maur?" the brunette cringed. "Why the hat tilt?"

"What do you mean?" she asked innocently. "This is how everyone wears ball caps!"

"Everyone? Really? No true baseball fan wears their cap sideways. I'll prove it to you. Look around," she said, gesturing to the throngs of people milling around between bleachers and concession stands. "Tell me how many misplaced caps you see here." Jane folded her arms, stared at the blonde, and waited for her calculation.

After nearly a minute she received her reply. "Two," Maura stated factually.

"What? Where?" Jane was clearly surprised at her answer.

"Just there," Maura pointed them out. "The two young men in the oversized clothes. I wonder if they've just lost weight recently?"

Jane snorted. "Those 'two young men' are wannabe gangster punks who can't figure out what size clothes they wear. Their pants are practically around their ankles! Now is that the kind of fan you want to look like?"

Maura frowned at the truth of the brunette's words. "No. But you did instruct me to tell you how many-"

Jane abruptly cut her off with a kiss. "Did I mention yet today how stunning you look?"

Maura smiled and blushed. "Jane, you can't always change the conversation whenever you want just by-"

She was stopped again and this time for much longer. Jane took a step forward to close the space between them and placed both her hands on Maura's narrow waist to keep her anchored.

Jane loved how she and Maura could be anywhere - even the noisiest of places - and when they kissed it felt like they were the only people around for miles.

"Mmm, Jane," Maura finally broke apart to breathe. "You need to be careful where you get me so aroused. I almost don't want to watch this game anymore..." she began leaving a trail of kisses down Jane's neck - something that made her shudder in pleasure every single time.

"Whoa, there, Maur. That is starting to feel way too good and I'm about to forget we're in public."

Maura grinned as she crossed to the other side of Jane's neck. "Then forget," she whispered.

Jane was getting so lightheaded she was afraid her knees would buckle so she took a big step back. "Okay, so not fair. I was supposed to be taking control of the situation with a quick kiss to shut you up. You cannot just go into Seductress Maura Mode anytime you want!"

Maura laughed, grateful that Jane had put some space between them so she could clear her head. "I'm sorry, Jane! I'm just so conditioned to exhibiting a specific set of physical reactions to your close proximity that it's hard for me to just switch them off."

"How is your Google mouth so damn attractive? I swear woman, if anyone else talked the way you do I'd probably go crazy."

Maura considered her words. "What exactly do you mean by-"

Jane laughed and waved off the rest of her words. "Nevermind. Now you've been wearing that cap wrong for way too long." Jane adjusted it to her satisfaction and stated, "And for the record, I don't want you straight in any situations except when it comes to baseball caps. Got it?"

Maura giggled at her word choice, fully understanding the implied meaning. "Got it. I have no reason to be otherwise with you around."

Jane took a step closer again and placed a kiss on Maura's forehead. "Good, babe, because I'm always going to be around."

They embraced and Jane closed her eyes, loving how this felt. It had been a year now since she and Maura had finally started dating as well as a year since the horrible ordeal with Mark Sutton - the imposter, abductor, and murderer who was thankfully long gone.

Jane winced as her reverie was broken by something small smacking the side of her face.

_What the-_

She looked around when another one bounced off of her head.

"Get a room, you two!"

Normally this would have pissed Jane off, but she was in an uncharacteristically good mood today. Not for any particular reason but she usually gave the credit to Maura who was the source of her happiness lately.

"What the hell, Frankie! Peanuts are for eating - not throwing at innocent bystanders!"

Frankie snorted from the bleachers where he was about twenty feet away and ten feet above them. "Innocent is hardly the word I'd choose!"

"Yeah, whatever, smartass!"

"Jane," Maura coolly reprimanded. "Language. And we're surrounded by children."

"You weren't concerned about them a few minutes ago, seductive one," Jane smirked.

Maura couldn't fight the smile that tugged at her lips. "Frankie's right, though." She looked at her watch. "It's twelve o'clock at this very moment! Let's go!"

Jane let Maura pull her through a maze of bleachers, following Frankie, until they arrived at the designated diamond.

They saw Angela and Frank Rizzoli already seated on the bleachers and climbed up to join them.

"Finally, you two!" Angela exclaimed. "I'm glad Frankie found you. You're just in time! Tommy's about to pitch!"

Jane looked across the diamond and sure enough, there was Tommy on the mound waiting patiently as the batter took a few practice swings.

"C'mon, Rat! Let's go, Tommy!" Maura stood up from the bleachers and clapped and cheered like a natural. This was the fifth game of the season and she had faithfully attended every single one along with the Rizzoli clan.

Rat was going into his senior of high school and Tommy was about to start at the local community college when they had signed up for the Boston Men's Baseball League that summer. They had both grown up playing the game and they turned out to be a dynamic duo on the diamond - Tommy as pitcher and Rat as catcher.

Tommy had the second fastest pitch in the league of fourteen teams with his average fastball at 83 MPH. It wasn't enough to get him a Division I scholarship straight out of high school these days, but it was plenty in a rec league with players ranging from 16-30 years old.

Rat's large build made him an intimidating presence behind the batters and his brains, strength, and talent helped him achieve the status as the only catcher in the league who hadn't allowed a single opponent to steal home base past him.

"Oh, I wish my parents could be here to watch them play!" Maura sighed.

"You think they'll come sometime?" Frank senior asked with a laugh. "I mean, I love you parents and all but I can't exactly see them at a baseball diamond."

"Frank!" Angela scolded with her thick Boston accent and a smack to her husband's arm.

"What?" he asked incredulously. "I didn't say nothin' wrong!"

Jane rolled her eyes and Maura just chuckled. "It's quite alright, Mr. Rizzoli, I can't picture them being here either, honestly. I don't even remember a sports game ever being turned on at our house ever while I was growing up. Once they get back from their cruise, though, they said they would come, and they've been a lot better at making good on their promises in the last couple of years," she added happily. "And I know they want to be here for Rat."

Maura smiled to herself as she thought about how both the Rizzoli and Isles families had so completely welcomed Rat into their arms and into their hearts. It was amazing how everything had come together, actually.

* * *

Once the shock of that fateful day had levelled out, Jane and Maura were able to reveal every detail of what had happened, starting from Ellen Ward's murder that they had been involved with years before, to Charlie's and Maura's abductions, and all the way through the final harrowing moments of that terrifying day.

But as is often the case in the wake of deep trial and sorrow, hope arises from the ashes. That hope was felt by no one more strongly than by Rat, the boy who had saved Jane's and Maura's lives and by so doing had earned a place of honor, respect, and love in the hearts of both families, along with anyone who heard his story.

Rat had thought about that experience every day since then - a day that had started as thieving had abruptly turned into making a selfless decision to save two lives, thereby changing the entire course of his own. Rat had no idea that the parents of the two girls he saved had stayed up that entire night discussing the boy's future. When he rejoined the two families the next day they presented him with a proposition, which coming from the mouth of Angela Rizzoli had sounded closer to a demand. If he agreed, the Rizzolis wanted to be his new foster family and the Isles wanted to fund his further education and ensure he would never worry about money for the rest of his life. Rat was stunned and overwhelmed as he tearfully accepted both offers and seamlessly became part of both families.

Not long after the tears and laughter had settled afterward, Jane and Maura decided it was as good a time as ever with everyone together to drop the bombshell of their relationship. After everyone sat in several seconds of stunned silence from their revelation, a new wave of tears and laughter rolled out. Their relationship was easily accepted by Maura's parents because they were friends with many same-sex couples they had gotten to know from travelling around the world, so it was normal for them.

The Rizzolis were the ones the girls had been worried about, but amazingly they took it all in stride as well.

"It's about time, you two!" Angela Rizzoli had announced. "After everything you've been through it was obvious you were in love! I'm glad you finally realized it!"

"Ma! You knew?" Jane had asked in shock.

"Of course I knew, Janie. I think even before you did. It's a mother's intuition!"

Tommy was the only one who had apparently been oblivious the whole time.

"It's okay, little brother," Jane smirked when she went up to him afterward. "You'll find someone like her someday."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," he laughed when he realized there was no point in being upset. "She's too smart for my liking anyway."

"Yep," his sister agreed. "Smart enough to not like men!"

It wasn't long after this that Jane and Maura decided to get their own place and move in together. Their near-death experience showed them that they needed to take life by the horns and not waste a minute of it. Jane had insisted on paying for the apartment since that was what she had been planning to do for herself originally, but Maura insisted that they split the cost.

"I want everything in our lives to be shared, Jane," she had explained, "whether it be pain, joy, or bills." Jane couldn't help loving how that kind of life sounded and finally agreed.

* * *

After a 3-0 victory Jane and Maura congratulated the boys, said goodbye to the Rizzolis for the day, and then left hand in hand.

"Man, Rat and Tommy were on fire today!" Jane said proudly as they walked home - the fact that they lived only a mile from the baseball fields had not been an accident on Jane's part when they were apartment hunting.

"They really were fantastic," Maura agreed. "I was on the edge of my seat when Tommy threw a no-hitter for the whole last inning!"

"I know! And how Rat practically tackled every guy that tried to run home - that was awesome!" Jane laughed. "But I think my favorite Rat highlight was after the game when he was about to tear off the heads of those teenagers who sucked at playing catch and gave you that welt on your leg!"

Maura glanced at the ugly round contusion that now marred her finely toned gastrocnemius and laughed at the memory. "He's a bit overprotective of me, but I love him for it."

"Can you blame him? His first memory of you is you tied up, unconscious and bleeding. It's just natural for him to want to protect you." The brunette chuckled. "That boy follows you around like a shadow. I hope he understands that your heart's already taken!"

"He does know that, but his attraction to me isn't anything sexual. I know that because I feel the same thing toward him."

"Say what?"

Maura laughed. "Relax, Jane. I just said it wasn't a sexual attraction, it feels more like a familial bond. I know I didn't grow up with any siblings, but it feels like the kind of relationship you have with your brothers."

"So you feel like you want to throttle him in his sleep?"

"Of course not," the blonde chided with a grin. "It's the relationship you have with your brothers that you don't openly show. You care about them, want the best for them, and love the fact that they look up to you. That's what Rat is to me and if he wants to think of me as a sister, that's exactly what I'll be for him." She paused thoughtfully. "You know he told me the other day that he wants to be a medical examiner just like me?"

"No kidding? Aw, that's really sweet, Maur. You think he's cut out for it?"

"If he has the ambition and the drive that boy can do anything. I may even be able to help him make connections down the road once I've established myself as a professional."

Jane smiled. "I'm sure you will. That kid seems so rough and tough on the outside but he's a total softy when it comes to you. He really looks up to you."

"I think you're right and I'm glad. That boy deserves the best that life can offer and I'll do whatever I can to help that happen. I owe him my life."

Jane squeezed her hand. "I know. We both do."

* * *

Later that night the two women were in bed, each reading their own book by lamplight. Jane had just finished And Then There Were None, by Agatha Christie.

"Wow, this woman has a crazy skilled imagination! I thought I had a detective eye but I had no idea who the killer was. Man, that was good."

Maura chuckled and turned to look at Jane. She loved the image of the brunette lying next to her in bed, long unruly curls falling across the book as she started looking through again. _It's quite the turn on._

"Well, that is why she's a famous mystery author! Did you know that she is so popular that her books are only outsold by the Bible and Shakespeare, respectively?"

"No way! That is impressive!"_ I love the endless stream of knowledge that comes from this woman's brain._

"Hey, Maur?" Jane began, somewhat tentatively.

Maura was surprised to hear what sounded like nervousness in her voice. She immediately placed her bookmark in her copy of Charles Dickens' Great Expectations and offered her full attention.

"Yes, Jane?"

"Well, I've been thinking a lot lately - about us, and..." she paused, trying to find the right words even though she had practiced this countless times. When she saw the smile and encouragement in her lover's beautiful hazel eyes, she continued.

"Okay, here's the thing. I love you, Maura Isles. You've been my best friend for five years and you've had my whole heart for this last year, which has been the most wonderful year of my life because of you. When we both almost died I learned that I could never lose you again, and this past year has taught me that I want to be yours and I want you to be mine for the rest of our lives." She took a deep breath. "I love you Maura and I want to know - will you marry me?"

Maura flung herself into Jane's arms and gave her a long, deep kiss. Knowing that that shouldn't be her only answer, the blonde finally pulled back and smiled from ear to ear. "Yes," she was still breathing a bit heavily because of her increased blood pressure and adrenaline, which Jane didn't mind at all.

"Yes, Jane Rizzoli. Nothing in the world would give me more joy than being your wife."

Jane smiled and felt a tear escape her eye as she heard the words she had been hoping for.

"I'm glad, babe, because it will be my honor to spend forever with you."

THE END.

* * *

**Author's Note: I just want you to know I have LOVED writing this story. I so appreciate the reviews from you all and I can't even put into words how much fun I've had writing my first two fanfics these last few weeks. I had never finished writing a story before EVER so I'm actually stunned that this happened. I give all the credit to Rizzles - those women are inspiring! ;-)**

**I intentionally made the story's title, "Something New", a bit ambiguous instead of using it to obviously describe certain parts of the story. I wanted it to potentially have as many interpretations as there were readers. So now I'd love to know... What does the title mean to you? How do you think it applies to the girls' story?**

**Thank you all for reading and reviewing - long live Rizzles! :D**

**-Chels17**


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